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| fresh breeze |
In 1935 a new presence arrived on the scene, with the purchase of Jura by Mrs W M Bergius, very much a family project, as she has her children for crew and her husband donates a Points Cup to the class. Jura proves to be immediately a strong contender.
After only a year of ownership J B Whyte has sold Iona to G N Lyall.
Here are the Official Results:-
Starts 1st 2nd 3 4 total
Westra- J H Thom 38 18 6 6 0 30
Sanda- James Buchanan 36 4 12 7 2 23
Jura- Mrs W M Bergius 33 7 5 2 1 15
Canna- J D Cochrane 30 4 7 5 0 16
Fidra- A R Keith Thomson 36 2 1 5 3 11
Bernera- R K Sharp 35 1 3 4 1 9
Stroma- Geo Nisbet 37 1 2 5 1 9
Iona- G N Lyall 24 1 1 1 0 3
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| the fleet |
1936 continues in the same vein. The Glasgow Herald reports an exceptional season that has made history, with among other events the first International Fortnight on the Clyde and the Prince of Wales Cup for International 14s. Record numbers of boats have been turning out and two new classes have been recognised, the Dragons and the Snipes. The arrival of the former was probably the main reason why the Islanders failed to increase their numbers. A new Islander with her Watermota cost about £350, against £250 for the lighter and engineless Dragon, which McGruers had now been mass-producing for several years.
A high point of the year was the Tarbert Race at the beginning of August, won by Westra with a time from Hunters Quay to Tarbert of 4 hours 21 minutes, with free sailing in strong winds all the way.
The Official Results for the year were:-
Starts 1st 2nd other total
Westra- J H Thom 34 18 2 4 24
Sanda- James Buchanan 33 7 15 5 20
Jura- Mrs W M Bergius 34 5 10 5 20
Bernera- R K Sharp 32 2 6 7 15
Fidra- A R Keith Thomson 35 3 2 4 9
Iona- G N Lyall 19 2 0 0 2
Stroma- Geo Nisbet 16 0 2 2 4
1937 was reported as a less successful season than 1936, with fewer visiting yachts and a lot of Clyde owners going South for events including the Coronation regatta at Torquay.
Herbert Thom was now sailing his new 6-metre yacht Circe. Typically he has won 24 flags including 6 firsts, largest number in any class, despite being dismasted on first day of Clyde Fortnight. The Glasgow Herald reports he already had 312 flags in 12 years, so is now up to 336.
The paper goes on:-
"JURA CHAMPION OF THE ISLANDERS
Mrs W M Bergius's Jura, sailed by the youngest crew on the Clyde, is the champion in the Scottish Islands class. The members of the crew are Messrs Walter and Cecil Bergius and Miss Margie Bergius, sons and daughter of the owner. With her total of 29 flags Jura shares the distinction with Froya of having won the largest number of prizes during the season. As was the case last year, Mr James Buchanan is the runner up with Sanda. Mr R K Sharps' Bernera and Mr A R Keith Thomson's Fidra have had the most successful season of their careers, with 24 and 20 flags respectively to their credit."
As many as 22 Dragons were turning out. George Nisbet has got one and has sold Stroma to John Buchanan.
The Official Results:-
Starts 1st 2nd other total
Jura- Mrs W M Bergius 36 19 6 4 29
Sanda- James Buchanan 36 10 12 2 24
Bernera- R K Sharp 36 4 11 9 24
Fidra- A R Keith Thomson 39 5 6 9 20
Stroma- John Buchanan 23 1 0 6 7
Iona- G N Lyall 24 1 0 0 1
Westra- F P Rankin 23 0 2 0 2
Extract from the Glasgow Herald's review of 1938:-
"The Scottish Islanders as usual provided keen and interesting racing. Mrs W M Bergius's Jura again tops the class, but this year only by a very small margin from Mr James Buchanan's Sanda, which had 4 wins more than Jura, but 4 fewer flags. Mr R K Sharp's Bernera is again in third place, close to the two leaders and well ahead of the other Islanders."
This year J D Cochrane's new boat Canna appears, but finds the going tough.
The Official Results:-
Starts 1st 2nd other total
Jura- Mrs W M Bergius 39 11 11 7 29
Sanda- James Buchanan 36 12 10 3 25
Bernera- R K Sharp 36 8 7 6 21
Fidra- A R Keith Thomson 33 3 6 5 14
Stroma- John Buchanan 31 3 3 4 10
Iona- G N Lyall 23 2 1 5 8
Canna- J D Cochrane 23 1 0 3 4
Finally, to bring us up to the cessation of yachting for the War, here are the figures for 1939.
The Official Results:-
Starts 1st 2nd other total
Sanda- James Buchanan 34 15 8 4 27
Jura- Mrs W M Bergius 34 11 12 2 25
Bernera- R K Sharp 32 5 7 11 23
Fidra- A R Keith Thomson 33 2 4 5 11
Iona- G N Lyall 14 1 1 0 2
Stroma- W S & C R Dobson 23 1 1 0 2
Westra- John Buchanan 13 1 0 0 1
Canna- J D Cochrane 17 0 2 2 4
Sanda won the Bryce Allan Cup
James Buchanan has his best season yet and is champion at last.
John Buchanan has sold Stroma to the Dobsons and bought Westra. A curious feature of the class is the tendency for owners to sell one Islander and replace her with another one. Were there lingering suspicions that the boats were not truly identical?
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| Westra, Bernera and Cara |
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