The Scottish Islanders

 

Following my post about the Scottish Yachting Archives, I’m writing to let people know that my book, The Scottish Islanders, is now in print.

The Scottish Islanders were a fleet of identical sailing yachts launched from 1929. Designed, built and organised to ensure absolutely level competition, winning was entirely down to boat handling skills and cunning. In the years before the war they were sailed by some of Glasgow’s best known business families, who abandoned their home comforts each weekend to race against each other, regardless of the weather, sometimes the only fleet seen out on the Firth of Clyde. Their antics excited interest far beyond the yachting fraternity and were eagerly covered in the national press.

I acquired Stroma, number Four in the Scottish Islands Class in September 1976, and over the next four decades kept her mainly on the west coast, before finally passing her on to new owners just a few years ago. Over that period I gathered a huge amount of information and over the last twenty years or so I’ve been putting together a book on them, based on research into the interesting group of families who first owned them, reports from their descendants and my own experiences of sailing in one. For nearly a hundred years the Islanders have been a feature on the west coast. They still regularly turn out for West Highland Week.

The first part of the book has a lot of social history and stories about some remarkable people, such as Udy Russell, a pioneer of women on water. There are occasional excursions abroad, when the Scots did battle with America’s best in Oyster Bay, outside New York. This section ends with a look at the return of the survivors postwar.

The book then moves on to tell a story of decline, when the yacht racing fraternity moved away from wooden boats, but the Scottish Islanders survived in the hands of people who just wanted to sail and who appreciated craftsmanship, style and seaworthiness. They had become cheap enough for young people to buy and use for coastal cruises. The survival of most of the fleet has provided colourful tales of exploits and excursions, as new generations of sailors, very different from the original group, continue to discover the fun of exploring the west coast of Scotland, with the boats still winning races and always turning heads.

I had nearly given up hope of finding a publisher until my old friends Dr William Collier and Antony Harrison told me that they had set up the Scottish Yachting Archives, an operation dedicated to ensuring that the history of sailing on the west coast is preserved. To date they've acquired the records of the William Fife dynasty and the G L Watson design business, a total of several thousand drawings and artefacts, all now preserved in their unit in central Glasgow. Part of their operation will involve publishing, and I’m delighted to report that my book is their first venture.

I'm also delighted that the Rockfield Centre in Oban has agreed to host the book launch in the cafe in the afternoon of Saturday 28th October.

In the meantime, copies of the book can be got via shop.yachtarchive.scot.

Protesting too much

Protests are the nasty side of racing, featuring committees formed of jumped-up sea squirts masquerading as lawyers, ignorant of the rules of natural justice, revelling in their one day of power and recalling unsettled scores better long forgotten. They rarely produce results that would stand in a proper forum. Sadly a look through the archives shows that it always was thus.

At the start of the Royal Gourock Closing Regatta at the very end of the 1933 season an incident occurred that changed Scottish yachting history, leading certainly to the first and possibly also to the second of the two transatlantic challenges that I wrote about  here,  here and here. The dramatis personae were Herbert Thom’s Gigha, Robert Sharp’s Bernera and Willie Russell’s Sanda. What follows is courtesy of Willie’s daughter and foredeck hand Udy, who has bequeathed to us a careful diary record. On the page for this race we find:

“1^st!! Crew Daddy, Harry, Udy, Hamish Ross

Two boats with protest flags flying!!!!

At the start Gigha and Bernera fouled with us in close attendance and we got away and were only passed once by Gigha. It was a very close and exciting race, squalls coming everywhere, we had the spinnaker up hundreds of times and it was terribly tiring but thrilling. We were first round every mark, which was quite a change for Sanda. Southerly wind all the time but it did not carry past the Cloch with much strength.

Gourock Committee disqualified Bernera and gave Gigha her 2^nd prize. We think we ought to have been disqualified if Bernera was, so we asked Sharp to go to the YRA. I think he is going.

Results:- Sanda 1^st, Gigha 2^nd Bernera disqualified.”

Here is Udy’s faithful record of the outcome. First, her own report.

“The Protest Case

Gigha v Bernera and Sanda

At the start of the race Gigha fouled Bernera.

We were to leeward in close attendance. Gigha approached the line off the wind, while Sanda and Bernera approached it on the wind.

Sanda luffed Bernera right into the wind and Bernera responded.

Gigha shouted to us “I’m on starboard tack,” she then hit Bernera near her mainstays. By this time we were well across the line and Gigha had had plenty of room at the mark.

Bernera could do nothing as she was in a sandwich. We just managed to keep clear when Bernera was forced to bear away.

We say in Sanda’s evidence that the boats were converging and Gigha had plenty of room at the mark. She was the weather boat and should have kept clear. She did not shout for “Room” or “water.”

Gigha was going to send in his protest and accuse Bernera and Sanda of being on port tack but Bernera told him we were not so he changed his protest and accused us of not giving enough room.

Gigha brought four witnesses which were heard and Bernera only got one of his two witnesses heard.

The Committee were very muddled and did not know what to think. They eventually took Gigha’s evidence against Sanda’s and Bernera’s. The case may go before YRA as Sanda should have been disqualified if Bernera was.”

The Royal Gourock Committee wrote on 28 September with their findings.

“Decision of Sailing Committee – Bernera disqualified
1                     The foul took place when Gigha and Bernera were passing but had not passed the mark.
2                     From the starting gun to the time the foul took place an overlap between Gigha and Bernera had been established.
3                     When the foul took place all three boats, Gigha to weather, Bernera and Sanda (to leeward) were on starboard tack.
4                     When passing mark, Sanda luffed Bernera, who responded.
5                     Bernera having luffed, Gigha – but for risk of hitting mark – should have responded also.
6                     Gigha therefore was entitled to room at mark.
7                     Gigha contended that in addition to the words used (“I’m on starboard tack”) she hailed for “room” or “Water.” This was denied by Bernera and Sanda and Committee gives this decision to Bernera.”

On 12 October 1933 Robert Sharp of Bernera wrote to the Committee

“Dear Sir

I wish to give you notice that I desire to appeal against the decision of your Sailing Committee in the protest between Bernera and Gigha, as stated in your letter of 28 September, on the following points:-

1             Rule 46 YRA states that the principal or his representative has the right to be present during the hearing of the evidence.

2             It was stated by you as proved that Sanda luffed Bernera. Why is Bernera disqualified and not Sanda?

3             Gigha makes no attempt to avoid a collision but struck Bernera. Rule 30 YRA section B states that windward yacht must respond to luff and protest if she thinks fit.

I shall be grateful if you will arrange for the evidence in this case to be reheard in the presence of Mr Thom, Mr Russell and myself. Mr Russell of Sanda is particularly keen on this being done as he was the winner of the race and feels that his position is most unsatisfactory as the matter stands.

I am,

Yours faithfully

“Bernera”

Here is the reply

“R K Sharp Esq

Dear Sir

Protest “Bernera”/”Gigha”

In replying to your letter of 12^th inst I beg to report that the Sailing Committee do not see any necessity to reconsider their decision and can only advise you to appeal to the YRA.

As regards Rule 45 YRA this rule prescribes that the principal, or his representative on each side, shall have the right to be present during the hearing of the evidence, but does not say that principal must be present and, of course, you did not ask to attend yourself during the meeting.

Yours faithfully

McGlashan, Sec.”

As the YRA would have had no power to overturn crucial findings of fact Robert Sharp and Willie Russell decided not to take matters further.

The episode left a very bad taste in the mouths of the Sharps and the Russells and I’m not surprised. Herbert Thom was well known for gamesmanship and probably felt he was entitled to shout “starboard” at other yachts also on starboard, but it’s astonishing that he won after being found untruthful about the call for water. I haven’t researched the relevant rule in 1933 about calling for water at the start but clearly the over-riding rule to avoid a collision was in force. Shouldn’t Thom have done this, hitting the start mark if need be, after all these things are designed for it?

For Willie Russell Thom’s shout was a shout too far. He decided forthwith to leave the Scottish Islands class and return to the six metres, commissioning Alfred Mylne to design him a new yacht, Kyla.

SCOTS IN OYSTER BAY - Chapter One - One-design Battles on the Clyde

One-Design Battles on the Clyde

By the 1920s the Clyde racing season was well developed, with the organisation shared among a number of yacht clubs. The area must be one of the finest stretches of water anywhere for tactical yacht racing. It contains a network of sea lochs and some lovely islands against a mixed backdrop of hills and coastal towns. While relatively sheltered the Firth has to be treated with respect, as the hills cause plenty of wind shifts and squalls, while the tide creates interesting sea conditions and has been responsible for many races being won and lost.

There was a new enthusiasm for one design racing which resulted in three new classes, the McGruer designed and built Garelochs in 1924, Johan Anker’s Dragon in 1928 and then Alfred Mylne’s scottish Islanders in 1929. 

from the Glasgow Herald

The Islanders had significantly more displacement than the other boats, a bit like “sawn off ” six metres, had a little accommodation inside and the class encouraged fitting an engine, because if you didn’t want one you had to carry equivalent weight and fit a dummy propeller.

Of these new classes the most competitive were the Islanders. From their first outings they established a tradition of racing whatever the weather with close finishes, the fleet generally all home within a few minutes of each other.

The Islanders attracted experienced yachtsmen looking for level racing in a strict one-design environment. Of the first batch Number 5, Sanda, was picked by the brothers Willie and Tommy Russell. Willie and his daughter Udy were the competitive members of the family. Tommy preferred the luxury of a larger boat and eventually went on to commission the lovely Eilidh from Alfred Mylne.

In 1931 the fleet was joined by the almost unbeatable John Herbert Thom, who moved over from the William Fife six metre Susette, formerly Lucille, a design from 1928, in which he was the class champion. He had decided against a Dragon because of its being a foreign design and the engine rule had initially disposed him against an Islander, but the opportunity for keen racing won him over.

It didn’t take long for tense and sometime aggressive competition to develop between the Russells and Herbert Thom. All were people of their time, when the vibrant and rapidly-growing city of Glasgow was producing a new breed of talented industrialists inventing and making things, taking risks and enjoying challenges in their recreations as well as in their working lives. There the comparison between the Russells and the Herbert Thom ended, for their personalities were very different.

Willie and Tommy Russell were a pair of talented, sociable and hard-working engineers whose antecedents had operated the Saracen Iron Works in Springburn. By the late 1920s they had moved from mechanical to civil engineering and were dividing their time between design work throughout the country and yachting and very convivial socialising at Colintraive in the Kyles of Bute, where Willie had a sizeable house overlooking the water. At the time Colintraive was a secluded little enclave of enormous villas and home to numerous Glasgow industrialists, such as the Connel shipbuilding family, a group of mainly unmarried siblings who commuted from their Scotstoun yard in their own fast steam-yachts.

John Herbert Thom was born in Glasgow in 1890 but he had the sea in his blood, coming from generations of Clyde fisherman. Herbert’s father, John, had progressed from a training at the cutting edge of steam technology in the drawing office of Scott & Co in Greenock to become the chief engineering draughtsman at the Barrow Shipbuilding Company. 

Hard work broke his health down and he returned eventually to Glasgow and worked as a consulting marine engineer and naval architect. He became associated with George Lennox Watson in designing engines for the latter’s elegant steam yachts. He also acquired the pump-making company Lamont & Co Limited and renamed it Thom, Lamont & Co Limited, where in due course Herbert would spend his working life.

From his earliest years Herbert was sailing dinghies and taught himself the principles of steering and tacking without a rudder, by weight distribution alone. He never forgot these lessons and later applied what he had learned in boats right up to 12 metre size to ensure correct trim. By the age of seven he was sailing with his father and at the age of thirteen, in 1903, he won his first yacht race aboard Rose, one of the Royal Clyde yacht Club fleet.

In 1925 Herbert bought the 19/24 footer Sunbeam, designed by Alfred Mylne and built by Alexander Robertson & Son in 1904 and immediately began to make an impact, finishing second in the class with 14 first places and seven seconds, out of 36 starts. In 1926, 1927 and 1928 he was class champion, ending up with a grand total of 108 placings out of 143 starts. 

He had to look for a new challenge and bought the Fife 6 metre Lucille, renamed her Susette, came third in 1929 and became champion of the sixes in 1930. By the end of 1930 the sight of close competition in the Islanders won him over and he commissioned yacht Number 9, Gigha, built by Alfred Mylne’s own yard at Ardmaleish.

Herbert Thom brought yacht racing in Scotland into the modern age. He brought the same dedication to his sport as he had done when learning his business after the early loss of his father. He studied every aspect. The major significance of trim we have already noted. He carried this to extremes by requiring crew members to lie down below in calm weather, which must have been hell as such weather would also have been very hot. He let it be known that he carried only a minute amount of petrol aboard, just enough to get to the start and home after the finish.

Some of this was pure psychology. An example was his racing flag, the red, white and blue Tango, naval code for “Do not pass in front of me.” Far more important was his habit of meticulous note-taking, which involved recording the courses taken by other boats and their positions at different stages. He also spent time studying the tidal currents and wind patterns in the Firth of Clyde, sometimes from the slopes of the hills behind Gourock and Hunters Quay.

Competition between the Russell’s McGruer-built Sanda and Thom’s Bute-built Gigha at the top of a closely packed fleet became increasingly intense. Thom’s gamesmanship and steely aggression on the water eventually soured relations with the sociable Russells who enjoyed the sailing as much as the competition. Inevitably there was speculation that the yachts were different. At the end of 1933 Thom announced that to end this he had bought Westra, the oldest boat and put Gigha up for sale.

However, Willie Russell had another idea altogether.

To be continued…..

The Designer Unconstrained

As is well known the major challenge for any designer of racing yachts is exploiting the rating rule. Whether we are talking about America's Cup boats or small restricted design classes whichever yacht goes faster through the water will have a better chance of the gold. Such boats can have great disadvantages, sometimes being quirky and even unsafe. Once outclassed, as they inevitably are, they may have little residual value.

It must come as a welcome relief, therefore, to be asked to design something that is unconstrained by a rule. The designer can then apply his creative ability and experience purely to achieve the requirements of his client.

The picture above shows examples of the work of the three greatest Scottish yacht designers (in my opinion) of all time.

At the top is Thistle, George Lennox Watson's 1887 design for a syndicate of members of the Royal Clyde Yacht Club to challenge for the America's Cup. She was the only one of the three to be built to a rule, the YRA rule of the same year, which was intended to encourage greater beam to produce stiffer yachts than previously. She was 86 feet 4 inches on the waterline.

The designers of the other two did not require to comply with a rule.

The middle yacht is Rosemary IV, designed and built by William Fife III of Fairlie in 1928, when his yard was without an order, to keep the workforce busy. She is 36 feet on the waterline. Having no client to please allowed Fife even more freedom and the design is in my view one of his best, having significantly shorter overhangs than his normal productions.

The yacht at the foot is Alfred Mylne's Islander, also designed in 1928. Not only are the ends much shorter than the designs that Mylne did to a rule, she has much firmer sections than either of my other examples.

When the Clyde Clubs Conference were considering a new design in 1928 Alfred Mylne would have been extremely keen to become involved. The new design was intended to replace the 19/24s, nineteen feet on the waterline, twenty four feet overall, sail area massive, which had in turn replaced the 17/19s, governed by a similar rule.There was a general recognition that rules like these had resulted in some pretty extreme boats and several accidents and should be replaced with a new more wholesome boat.

Most importantly, the new boat would be  strict one-design.

The Conference considered various existing designs, such as Westmacott's Sea View Mermaid and Solent Sunbeams and Alfred Mylne's own Belfast Lough River Class of 1921. They probably wanted something slightly larger, because of the better opportunities for short cruises on the Clyde and the Scottish West coast.

Alfred Mylne had recently produced a new design for the Royal Bombay Yacht Club and this duly became the Scottish Islands Class One Design, but with a Bermudian rig as opposed to the Indian boats’ gunter.

The Islander would be 20 feet on the waterline as opposed to the Rivers 18, with the same overall length of 28 feet 6 inches. The sail area would 420 square feet, against the River's 350.

In February 1929 The Yachting Monthly reported that

"The new class has one feature which is a sign of the times, in that the boats will be fitted with auxiliary power and side propellers, those owners who do not wish to carry an engine being required to fit the propellor and carry a weight equivalent to that of the engine."

The view was also also expressed that

"fitted with auxiliaries the new boats will not be very fast, particularly in view of their moderate sail spread..."

There is no doubt that with modern sailcloth the boats are nowadays not under-canvassed. The seas are timeless and the short overhangs, buoyant ends and firm sections are still as valid for safe sailing in a small boat as they ever were.

In order to preserve the one-design principle to the letter and not just to the spirit various rules were enforced. The first five boats were built on a mass-production principle by the McGruers, who worked closely with Mylne and could deliver on a price, having just built the identical Indian boat.

On completion the first owners selected their hulls by lot.

The dummy propellor rule was another example.

Later on the owners were to agree that new sails would only be ordered by a vote, unless for a blown-out replacement, limits were placed on yachts being hauled out for scrubbing and so on. Occasionally owners would compete in each others' boats too.

I've researched the history of this class and published the results on sister website www.scottishislandsclass.blogspot.com. While doing this I was struck at how owners would sell their Islander only to buy another one, to the outside world identical in all respects. The extreme case was the sale by Herbert Thom of his Gigha, the newest boat and buying Westra, number one, following mutterings about an unfair advantage. Underlying all this must have been a reluctance to believe that it was the helmsman who was making the difference.

Herbert Thom did get an advantage in one respect however. It's often been remarked that the Islanders had a rule that each yacht should have a different hull colour and a lot of rather pointless research has been done, admittedly some of it by me before I learned better, to identify the "original" colours. The rule is contained in the 1959 edition, but until I find the earlier one I won't accept it existed earlier. Instead I've had access to personal papers, currently top secret, confirming that all the original fleet were white, apart from Sanda, which was light blue and Thom's current yacht, be it Gigha, Westra or, later Canna, which was always varnished.

It has been suggested by one apparently authoritative commentator that this led to litigation, a judge ruling that varnished was "brown" but there's no evidence of an actual case. From what I've learned of the original owners they were a dignified bunch with better things to do than waste time and money in the courts.

What is certain is that, like everything else he did Thom was exploiting a rule. Traditional varnish could easily be scraped off at the end of each season and the minimum number of fresh coats applied at the start of the next to keep the topsides light, whereas paint would just be abraded to give a sufficient key for a fresh coat, composed of course mainly of lead.

All this suggests that new poachers will soon arrive on any hillside and the gamekeepers will find it hard to keep up. There are lessons in this for our friends in Scottish Coastal Rowing, who have their first World Championships in Ullapool next year.


This is a repost from my  Scottish Islands website, where my friend Hal Sisk posted the following interesting comment

“In 1893, John Coats Jr.commissioned the great G L Watson, at the height of his career, to create two identical 36ft cutters purely for match racing. These were specifically not to be influenced by any rating rule, truly unconstrained. The result was the delightful clipper-bowed pair Gypsy and Brunette.

In his extraordinary busy period,also designing the America's Cup challenger Valkyrie and Britannia II and a steam yacht of 1025 tons for Arthur H E Wood, he also managed to find time to occasionally helm one of the pair in their frequent Saturday races.

My beautiful Peggy Bawn, built the following season as a "fast cruiser" which could also race as a 2.5 Rater, is almost a sistership to the match racers. So she also represents an unconstrained design, from the Golden Age of Yacht design. Indeed her hull shape and hydrostatic parameters conform closely to the "Britannia Ideal" which, for a sea-kindly sailing craft, persisted as a type right up to the late 1960s, until more powerful auxiliary engines caused sailing yacht design to move in the direction of quasi motor sailers.

See also my foreword to Martin Black's "G L Watson--the Art &
Science of Yacht Design".

Hal Sisk 

PS Yachtsmen are slavish followers of fashion and most one designs reflected the style of recent racing craft. An classic example is the Dragon class, with unnecessary long U-shaped overhangs, looking backwards to racing rules which primarily measured waterline length." 

It's possible that Hal may hold the key to the identity of the mysterious Leggy Prawn.

Ace Marine now own the Mylne archives and can be found here:- www.mylne.com

G L Watson can be found at www.glwatson.com

Successors to the Fife dynasty can be found at www.fairlieyachts.com

A dirty old night on the Clyde

 

It was late in the season and the sun had not been seen all day. If it hadn't been my turn to assist the race officer there's no way I would have gone, and as I drove down through wind and rain I wondered if even the Loch Longs would turn out to race.

They always do, of course, and on that evening fifteen or so years ago there were also a pair of Islanders.  With only two starts there wasn't a lot for us to do. I had a good view from the top of the clubhouse and took these pictures of Cara and Gigha battling it out.

 

Above is Gigha, then recently restored and owned by David Spy, romping in before the start.

Here is the scene in the last minute, followed by a couple of shots just after the start.

The boats were sent off on a long beat from Gourock to Hunters Quay, followed by a short reach down the Firth and then a run home. The race officer figured that even a couple of hardened old sea-dogs like David and Martyn would find that enough.

Here are some shots of Gigha as she bashed her way over towards the Kilcreggan shore.

The weather thickened so much that we lost sight of both contestants for a while. Eventually as visibility got even worse the wind moderated a bit and Gigha emerged from the murk, a few hundred yards ahead of her rival.

Gigha carried her full canvas throughout this race, which meant that she was pretty pressed at the start but had the advantage later, helped by David's crew being willing to hoist a spinnaker. Martyn decided to keep the full main and fly a tiny storm-jib. This helped Cara after the start, but gave her a serious handicap later on.

Traditionally the Islanders never reefed, but I think that with stronger modern sail-cloths they are now easily over-pressed and go better with a shorter main and not dragging their side-decks through the water.

More on the Scottish Islanders

Because the boats in a one-design class are identical, or at least supposed to be, researching their history is interesting only because it becomes truly a history of the people who became involved with individual boats. One-design racing appeals to a certain type of person who would rather win races through helming and crewing competence than by spending money.

The Scottish Islands Class attracted a diverse group of individuals to its ranks. Some, like William Wordie, about whom I wrote a post recently, didn't stay in the class for long. In his case I guess that the pressures of running a haulage empire pretty well excluded sufficient time to excel on the water, although I'm sure he didn't lack the competitive spirit. Others stayed with their boats through thick and thin, enduring lean years where few if any trophies were won in the hope of an eventual triumph. The skill and dedication of J Herbert Thom ensured that for some this remained something of a dream.

The Islanders went to lengths to avoid anyone getting an advantage. The original five hulls, built side by side by McGruers in an early form of mass-production, were allocated to the first owners by lot. If you didn't want an engine you had to carry the equivalent weight and have a dummy propellor fitted. Sails were ordered by the class secretary after he had obtained suitable quotations and a vote had been taken, the new jibs or mains then being allocated by lot. The boats could only be hauled out for scrubbing at certain times, to ensure they didn't become too light or unfairly weed-free. Each hull had to be a distinctive colour, but the original owners didn't bargain for Herbert Thom's preference for a varnished hull, which was allowed after some mutterings. He argued that he liked the colour brown, but in fact he was aware that a painted hull would gather weight as succeeding coats were added, whereas he would have had last season's varnish scraped off each winter.

Despite all these efforts owners still felt that some boats were faster than others. It is always possible, indeed likely, that two wooden boats from the same drawings but different builders will not be identical. The yachts from number 6, Jura, onwards, were built by Alfred Mylne's own Bute Slip yard, so suspicions naturally arose. Thus we find owners sometimes selling one Islander and buying another.

Herbert Thom owned three of the boats during his time in the class. He commissioned number 9, Gigha, and immediately became class champion in 1931, with 29 prizes in 33 starts, including 18 firsts. In 1932 he had 27 prizes including 21 wins. By 1933 the competition was hotting up. Gigha won only 14 times with William Russell's Sanda, number 5, barking at her heels with 10 and actually more places overall.

Despite Sanda's success discontent within the class was now at a height, with much rumouring about Gigha being simply a faster boat. George Jackson's Westra, number 1, had now missed two seasons and he put her up for sale. When Herbert Thom heard that she had been sold to someone on the Solway he persuaded the purchaser to accept his Gigha instead. The Field correspondent reports:-

"On the relative performance of the two boats the exchange may seem somewhat surprising. There is only one explanation I can think of. Allegations were sometimes heard that the success of Gigha was accounted for by her out-size. Remeasurement more than once showed that there was no foundation for these statements, but Mr Thom is a good sportsman and I expect that he has taken this course to remove any unpleasantness, no matter how unjustified."

This comment proved correct and in 1934 The Field commented:-

"As before, Mr J H Thom headed the Scottish Islands class; he won with Gigha last year, and this time has repeated with another and older boat, which shows that it is the man who counts."

And the Glasgow Herald:-

"Mr J H Thom scored a success in Westra, with which he tops the list in the Scottish islands class with 29 flags in 38 starts. His prizes include the Bryce Allan Cup and the No 2 Tarbert Cup."

Herbert Thom and Westra triumphed again in 1935 and 1936, but by the following year he had moved into the six-metres with Circe and the other owners began to get more of a chance. Westra was sold and then lost during the War, but post-War Herbert Thom was to return with his third islander, Canna, number 10.

Canna just after JHT acquired her, hull still white

I've written extensively about the Islanders in my other blog www.scottishislandsclass.blogspot.com , where those with an appetite for data will find the pre-War and post-War racing results in some detail. That blog has now become more or less an archive of information about these yachts, which occupy a unique place in our sailing history. While researching that history I became aware that the people involved concerned themselves with other yachts as well. Further, they had interesting personal histories of more general interest, so it makes sense for these to be recounted on this blog. I shall be recording some of those histories in further posts.