Following her launch on Monday at Camper & Nicholsons Gosport yard, Gipsy Moth IV has undergone her first sailing trials since Francis Chichester brought her back to the UK following his solo circumnavigation in 1967.

Project director for her new owners, the UK Sailing Academy, John Walsh took a crew of four – including two shipwrights – for a sail in seven knots of wind from Cowes to Ryde and back.

‘She’s so stable in direction I can leave the helm and go and make a cup of tea,’ John reported. However she is a ‘pig’ to manouvre under power in and out of marinas. ‘She sometimes has a kick to port, but then like a mule she sometimes doesn’t!,’ added John.

Yachting Monthly will cover her sailing trials in the September issue. Meanwhile for up-to-date pictures look at the GMIV picture gallery: www.yachtingmonthly.com/gipsy moth