Four of the first 46 entries for the 2024 Scottish Series this season are from Northern Ireland. They received a 15% discount on their entries, which has now been extended to the end of March at 10%. The event will…
It's 50 years since the Clyde Cruising Club delivered the first Scottish Series, and it has been run out of Tarbert, Loch Fyne, for the last 40 of those. This year’s event will be held from 24th till 27th May.…
Another first for the fiftieth Scottish Series this year will include RS21 keelboats racing on Loch Fyne. The RS21 Association has included the event as one of its 'Official Series', and that will give the class a chance to start…
Con Murphy from the National Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire Harbour will be the Principal Race Officer for May's Scottish Series Regatta on the Clyde in Scotland. The regatta now has its team in place, and they are three highly accomplished…
One hundred and ten and counting. The popular Scottish Series Regatta run by the Clyde Cruising Club out of Tarbert on Loch Fyne on the west coast of Scotland has, at the last count, 110 expressions of interest. The event…
For some of the Northern Ireland boats which competed in the Scottish Series at Tarbert, the results were very pleasing. Of the nine who made the trip north, the best results were from Ballyholme-based Kevin Byers and Michael Russell’s Sigma…
After a weekend of challenging conditions and fierce racing, Brian Hall's J109 Something Else from the National Yacht Club on Dublin Bay has won the Causeway Cup at the Scottish Series on the Clyde for his performance in winning IRC 3…
The Scottish Series 2023 on Saturday was dominated by changeable conditions. Although the wind was always present, it could be classed as extremely variable, which made the race officers' jobs very difficult when it came to setting a course. A…
For many years, Northern Ireland has had several entries in West Highland Week, and hopefully, that will be the case this year. But so far (though the event isn’t till the end of July), of the fifteen listed entries, there…
Scotland's top regatta has been cancelled just 20 days before the first race. The scrubbing of the 'premier regatta' is not due to a lack of entries but a lack of volunteers to run the event on Loch Fyne, according…
A ‘Town’ Regatta at Bangor on Belfast Lough was first held over a century ago and saw reincarnation in 2018. Subsequent planned events fell foul of Covid 19 but Royal Ulster has just announced the welcome return of the regatta…
The North Rotunda in Glasgow was the swanky venue for the Clyde Cruising Club’s Annual Prizegiving last weekend and there to pick up his prizes won at the Scottish Series way back at the end of May was Royal Ulster’s…
Afloat Sailor of the Month for May John Minnis from Royal Ulster YC in Bangor on Belfast Lough has added yet another prize to his winnings with his First 31.7 Final Call taking the Causeway Cup for the best performance…
We can only hope that next week's up-grading of our sailing from training events to official racing will hold up through a steadily developing season, despite the many challenges to continuing emergence from the pandemic. If it does, then when…
The passage across the North Channel from Belfast Lough to the Clyde for the 2021 Scottish Series was undoubtedly a worthwhile one for John Minnis in the Beneteau First 31.7 Final Call from Royal Ulster Yacht Club. Racing at Inverkip…
With less than four weeks to go to the first race of Scotland's top sailing event, the revamped Scottish Series on the Clyde has received only 13 IRC entries received so far. Entry is due to close on May 14th…
Although the format of the Scottish Series varies little from year to year, it is interesting to see some of the changes which the event has seen over the years:
CYCA handicap class added to IOR (1976)
IOR level rating classes to reflect the popular sizes and World Championships being held in the UK
Separate one design class for Sonatas (1980 to date)
Campbeltown dropped with offshore races direct to Tarbert (1982)
Unique light displacement CYCA class - the forerunner of today's sportboats (1982)
Computer results system introduced in 1982 and now recognised as the best in the UK
Separate one design class for Sigma 33 (1987 to date)
Separate one design classes in certain years for Impalas, Sigma 38, Melges 24 and Cork 1720
Inner triangle to shorten courses for smaller classes (1986)
Points loading for offshore race reduced from 2 to 1.5 to 1
First racing in Scotland under Channel Handicap (1988)
Second racecourse for smaller classes (1989)
Discard introduced
Windward leeward races - two per day (1993)
Sportboat classes with no overnight races (1994)
Marquee on quayside for main social events (1995-2008)
Restricted Sail Class (1998)
Third racecourse for sportboats with up to three races per day (1998)
Day feeder races (2002)
Overnight and day feeder races discontinued (2005)
Stand-alone Tarbert Inbound and Outbound passage races introduced (2005/6)
With all these changes, some things have stayed the same:
Huge support from Ireland every year since 1975
A magnificent effort ashore and afloat from the volunteer helpers of the Clyde Cruising Club, Royal Scottish Motor Yacht Club and Tarbert Loch Fyne Yacht Club
Results and communications service at the forefront of technology
The best competition and the best social scene in the country
An overall Series winner, the roll call including many of the top sailors in Scotland and beyond.
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