Tag Archives: Isle of Bute

Speed, grace and beauty – The Clyde Fortnight 1923

Posted on April 22, 2014 by Peggy Bawn Press

For 13 tantalising seconds in the newly released Pathe archive newsreel above, we are treated to the full broadsides beauty of King George V’s G.L. Watson-designed cutter, Britannia: the special one; probably the most famous racing yacht there will ever be; … Continue reading →

Posted in archives, Big Class, boatbuilders, boatyards, book, Britannia, Clyde yachting, Clydebuilt, film, Firth of Clyde, G.L. Watson, G.L. Watson & Co., gift, Glasgow, Irish yachting, leather-bound, limited edition, Martin Black, naval architect, object of desire, other yacht designers, yacht design, yacht designer, yacht racing, yachting history | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Order of the Thistle

Posted on March 23, 2014 by Peggy Bawn Press

It continues to be the America’s Cup silly season: the void between the last, enthralling episode, and the next; wherever it may be; in whatever boats… And crew nationality has raised its head. Last year’s ‘American’ defender, Oracle Team USA, … Continue reading →

Posted in America's Cup, Big Class, book, Captains, Clyde yachting, Clydebuilt, Firth of Clyde, G.L. Watson, G.L. Watson & Co., Glasgow, naval architect, object of desire, shipbuilding, Steam Yacht, yacht clubs, yacht design, yacht designer, yacht racing, yachting history | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Summer of ’68 – The Tobermory Race

Posted on October 1, 2013 by Peggy Bawn Press

This is not a classic yacht race. In the late 1960s, the elegant, bespoke, mostly locally designed and built yachts seen in the beautifully planned, filmed and paced documentary below were the norm on the Firth of Clyde and West … Continue reading →

Posted in Baltic Germany, boatbuilders, boatyards, Clyde yachting, Clydebuilt, film, Firth of Clyde, G.L. Watson, journalists, Martin Black, naval architect, object of desire, other yacht designers, yacht clubs, yacht design, yacht racing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 18 Comments

The weekend… pad

Posted on August 23, 2013 by Peggy Bawn Press

Not a Watson in sight here. But the story of G.L. Watson’s rise to fame as a designer of superb yachts of all types is very much part of the 19th Century development of the Firth of Clyde as a … Continue reading →

Posted in Clyde yachting, Firth of Clyde, G.L. Watson, Glasgow, Martin Black, photography, River Clyde, Steam Yacht | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Weekend Watson – S.S. Hebrides

Posted on August 10, 2013 by Peggy Bawn Press

The world’s first hybrid roll-on-roll-off ferry, Hallaig, built by Ferguson Shipbuilders of Port Glasgow for Caledonian MacBrayne’s Sconser (Skye) / Raasay route, began trials last week on the Firth of Clyde. When launched last December, she was billed as the … Continue reading →

Posted in boatbuilders, boatyards, Clydebuilt, film, Firth of Clyde, G.L. Watson, G.L. Watson clients, Glasgow, Lifeboat, other yacht designers, River Clyde, RNLI, rowing, Sail and oar, shipyards | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

High wire act

Posted on June 5, 2013 by Peggy Bawn Press

This wonderful image from G.L. Watson – The Art and Science of Yacht Design of Shamrock II’s huge jackyard topsail being raised at Rothesay, Isle of Bute in 1901 made The Herald Scotland magazine’s Saturday Portfolio spot last weekend. Try … Continue reading →

Posted in America's Cup, Big Class, Clyde yachting, Clydebuilt, Firth of Clyde, G.L. Watson, Glasgow, Irish yachting, photography, sailmakers, tank testing, yacht racing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Scottish literature class

Posted on March 22, 2013 by Peggy Bawn Press

When Tarbert Loch Fyne poet George Campbell Hay (1915-1984) worked 1930s summers aboard the herring skiff Liberator, the local fishing fleet would have been universally motorised, either by conversion or by design. Perhaps reflecting this transition, in his maritime work … Continue reading →

Posted in boatbuilders, boatyards, book, Clyde yachting, Firth of Clyde, G.L. Watson, Glasgow, Irish yachting, object of desire, other yacht designers, yacht design, yacht designer | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

A wee adventure

Posted on March 15, 2013 by Peggy Bawn Press

The Fifes are not the only beautiful wooden yachts paying a special visit to the Firth of Clyde in the summer of 2013. The old and not so old ladies (shh, some of them might even be plastic and sport … Continue reading →

Posted in boatbuilders, boatyards, Clyde yachting, Clydebuilt, Firth of Clyde, G.L. Watson, object of desire, other yacht designers | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Return of the Dragon

Posted on March 3, 2013 by Peggy Bawn Press

The beautiful Fife yachts return to the Firth of Clyde this year to pay homage to the waters of their birth from 28 June to 5 July. After an initial rendezvous on ‘Fairlie Roads’, moored at and anchored off Largs … Continue reading →

Posted in America's Cup, art, Big Class, Clyde yachting, Clydebuilt, Firth of Clyde, G.L. Watson, G.L. Watson clients, Glasgow, Martin Black, object of desire, other yacht designers, River Clyde, yacht racing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Weekend Watson – Lufra

Posted on February 9, 2013 by Peggy Bawn Press

For those suffering the worst of winter right now, here’s a bright sunny image – even in monochrome – from the mid-1890s. The gaff-rigged cutter Lufra eats up the Clyde off Dunoon in a stiff nor’westerly, her cotton sails by … Continue reading →

Posted in boatbuilders, boatyards, Clyde yachting, Firth of Clyde, G.L. Watson, object of desire, sailmakers, The Weekend Watson, yacht racing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments