Jura Scottish Series 2026 Overall - It's a popular local triumph as Nevilles win

Guy Neville, sailing with his daughters Ruth and Kay, Alex Spence and Nick Speechley, collect the top overall award at the Jura Scottish Series © Andrew Wallace

The north of Britain's most prestigious annual regatta, Jura Scottish Series, may have started in chilly spring temperatures and grey skies last Friday but Loch Fyne and the Kintyre peninsula delivered a blistering hot Mediterranean Monday Bank Holiday finale. Light winds, flat seas and brilliant sunshine offered a fitting end to the four-day event and sent the competitors homewards wearing big smiles and a few sunburned faces.

The biggest grins belonged to Craignish Boat Club's Guy Neville, sailing with his daughters Ruth and Kay, Alex Spence and Nick Speechley, who collected the top overall award for the best performance across the nine classes.

Sailing PO in the 12 strong, very competitive Hunter 707 One Design Class they won five of their 12 races, finished second three times and took one third. With a 16 points aggregate PO left the 2016 Scottish Series Trophy winners, Dara O'Malley's SeaWORD 11 points behind as runners-up.

It was a special and popular triumph for Neville who worked his way through the Scottish squad system to become a renowned Scottish 420 dinghy squad and Topper squad coach. He dedicated the team's success to the memory of his dad Alan and to that of Brownen Angus, a close friend who was one of the key organisers of the regatta, who his father Alan had taught to sail.

"I love One Design racing. Lately my daughter was racing and training in Hunter 707s at Port Edgar with Dundee University so we decided the 707 was the perfect boat for us. We got the boat a year ago and finished fourth here. But we have changed everything compared to what the others in the fleet do and it seems to work. We seem to be quick." Neville smiled in the Tarbert sunshine.

"It is great to win the Trophy. I won the Sonata class a few years back with eight firsts and have stood there at the prizegiving thinking....'maybe'....but this time it feels amazing."

Guy Neville, sailing with his daughters Ruth and Kay, Alex Spence and Nick Speechley, collect the top overall award at the Jura Scottish Series - photo © Andrew Wallace

Winning line up

Neville helms and does tactics, Alex Spence trims, Ruth does bow, Kay trims the mainsheet and Nick Speechley runs the pit. All sail together out of Loch Craignish, a beautiful sea loch about 40 minutes north of Tarbert on the Argyll coast.

The recipient of the overall Scottish Series Trophy is decided subjectively by a panel of organisers and the sponsor Isle of Jura. Counting a 'picket fence' of six firsts and four second places in the Etchells class Alan Manuel and crew on Bounce Back must have been in the frame to win the Trophy again, as they did in 2024. They win the Etchells for the third time in a row.

And also likely to have been the panel food for thought, marking their 18th year of racing at Scottish Series, James Millar and a mainly family crew won the Sigma 33 class on Mayrise with seven race wins from 12 starts though the Sigma 33s had a fleet of six.

Irish J/109 wins again

In IRC Class 1 it was the 2025 Scottish Series Trophy winners, Brian Hall's Dublin Bay based J/109 Something Else which prevailed again but they had to work harder tn ever to top a very competitive division, finishing eight points ahead of the Clyde-based Shelley family on Mocking-J. They lifted the Sinbad Trophy for the best family crew.

IRC Coastal went to the wire. A slender but decisive victory in today's light winds earned Alan and Erin McLeod's Samurai J the class title but only on countback ahead of Arran's Thomson brothers Ian and Graham on Sloop John T. There was just 27 seconds separating Samurai J and Sloop John T on corrected time today.

"It was tight all the way. We kept calm today and really kept our eyes out of the boat and watched for patches of breeze and that made the difference." A delighted Erin Macleod of Samurai J added.

Young guns and elder statesman!

In the CYCA 1 class the overall victory went narrowly to John Conlon's Sunfast 37 Humdinger by just two points. Young Rory Chalmers from the Clyde won CYCA Class 2 on the Mustang 30 Sleipnir counting a perfect score of five firsts. They win the Tunnocks Trophy for the best CYCA performance.

Veteran Ian Nicolson lifted the CYCA Two handed class also counting five race wins on St Bridget.

CYCA 1 after 6 races:

1. Humdinger, John Conlon 11pts
2. Pipe Dream II, Andy O'Donovan 13pts
3. Ceol Beag, Donald MacKenzie 13pts

CYCA 2 after 6 races:

1. Sleipnir, Rory Chalmers 5pts
2. Arcade, Finn Aitken 9pts
3. Scruples, Chris Tait 15pts

CYCA Restricted Sail after 6 races:

1. Vasilia, Cameron Smith 4pts
2. Dark and Scary, Stevie Andrews 7pts
3. Honeybee, Iain Cameron 12pts

CYCA 2 Handed Restricted Sail after 6 races:

1. St Bridget, Ian Nicolson 5pts

Etchells after 12 races:

1. Bounce Back, Allan Manuel 14pts
2. Animal, Simon Reid 30pts
3. Living on the Etch, Katy Wedderburn 33pts

Sigma 33 after 12 races:

1. Mayrise, James Millar 13pts
2. Close Encounters, Griogair Whyte 26pts
3. Squawk, Paul Prentice 27pts

Hunter 707 after 12 races:

1. PO Ruth Neville 16pts
2. SeaWORD, Dara O'Malley 27pts
3. More T Vicar, Ben Williamson 27pts

IRC Class 1 after 9 races:

1. Something Else, Brian Hall 12pts
2. Mocking J, Ben Shelley 20pts
3. Victric 3, Michael Browne 20pts

IRC Coastal after 4 races:

1. Samurai J, Alan Macleod 7pts
2. Sloop John T, I & G Thomson 7pts
3. Spirit of Jacana, Bruce Douglas 14pts

• Full Results
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