1934 Racing Season

winning flags 1934

"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." The Field.

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."

Need I add more?

The Official Results:-

                                               Starts    1st    2nd    other    total

Westra- J H Thom                       38     20        4         5       29
Sanda- James Buchanan               35       6      11         6       23
Cara- J M Christie                        31      4       11         2       17
Bernera- R K Sharp                     34       2         6         7       15
Stroma- Geo Nisbet                     38       2         1         8       11
Iona- J B Whyte                           19       3         2         3         8
Fidra- A R Keith Thomson           38       1         3         4         8

So we can see that William Russell has sold Sanda to James Buchanan, who has in turn sold Iona to a newcomer to the class, J B Whyte.

A major event in the calendar was the Tarbert Cup Races, held over the first weekend of August. Westra's victory in the No 2 Cup was the first time an Islander had won. Herbert Thom had built a reputation as a heavy weather helm and he was in his element in this demanding race. The Glasgow Herald again:-

"There was a fresh breeze from the south-south-west, with very hard squalls and heavy rain in Loch Fyne. The conditions gave the yachts a hard beat from Hunters Quay... The second division racers found the conditions quieter in the Kyle of Bute than in the firth.....they had a keen race in hard squalls to the finish."

Westra

Westra and Sanda

a close race

Westra

Cara, Bernera, Westra and Stroma