Yacht on the Clyde circa 1925 - any suggestions?

A1Sailor

A1Sailor

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Yachts on the Clyde circa 1920-40 - any suggestions?

Edit - there are now three images in this thread
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My mother has about 150 glass B&W "plates" which I believe were taken by my late Grandfather in the 1920s. Three of them are of yachts, and here is the best one:
12metre-K9.jpg

The image quality could be improved, if anybody (present owner?!!!) is interested. I sat the glass plate in front of a light-box, took a photo with my digital camera then converted the negative to a positive in Adobe Photoshop Elements 2.0 - a professional would do a better job...

Is she an early 12metre? What is her name?

Judging from the land/hills behind the yacht I think it may have been taken from the Lunderston Bay (just south of Cloch Point - north of Inverkip) area, but am open to suggestions. I am going to cross-post on some of the other forums also.

Thank you for your help.
 
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According to the 12M association www.12mrclass.com (easy to find courtesy google) K9 was called Zelta last seen in Barcelona in 1965 and recorded as "disappeared". No doubt a bit more digging in their book will find more.
 
Zelita

Thanks for the info - I had already had a look at that site, but didn't find her. I've looked a little deeper into the site, and in 1933 she was based in Greenock and was owned by Arthur C. Connell. Not sure if she was renamed when she went to Spain.
 
Can't help with the boat but the picture was taken somewhere between McInroy's Point and Cloch.

It is the view from our front window!

Regards
Donald
 
yachts on the Clyde

Hi Aja

It seems you have a very interesting collection, regardless of the condition of the plates. Have you identified the other two yachts yet?

Arthur C Connell was the well known ship builder, who lived at Dougalston Milngavie and had quite a few twelves built. He was a member of the Royal Northern from 1895 and his racing flag was vertical blue and red with a white diamond on the middle. I can't make out the flag from your picture.

Connell had K8, Zinita built by William Fife III in 1927, Zoraida, also K8, built by Fife in 1931, Zelita K9 by Fife 1933, Westra, K4, by Camper & Nicholson 1934 and Ornsay, K19 also by Campers 1939. The last two were destroyed in an air raid in 1942. Oddly, K9 doesn't seem to be listed in Luigi Lang's book about the twelves (I don't have a copy so am not sure).

The above seems to date your photo to 1933 at the earliest.

I have a couple of blogs, www.scottishboating.blogspot.com and www.scottishislandsclass.blogspot.com and would be happy to post up anything you feel like sharing.

Best wishes

Ewan
 
Ewan G Kennedy said:
Hi Aja

It seems you have a very interesting collection, regardless of the condition of the plates. Have you identified the other two yachts yet?

Arthur C Connell was the well known ship builder, who lived at Dougalston Milngavie and had quite a few twelves built. He was a member of the Royal Northern from 1895 and his racing flag was vertical blue and red with a white diamond on the middle. I can't make out the flag from your picture.

Connell had K8, Zinita built by William Fife III in 1927, Zoraida, also K8, built by Fife in 1931, Zelita K9 by Fife 1933, Westra, K4, by Camper & Nicholson 1934 and Ornsay, K19 also by Campers 1939. The last two were destroyed in an air raid in 1942. Oddly, K9 doesn't seem to be listed in Luigi Lang's book about the twelves (I don't have a copy so am not sure).

The above seems to date your photo to 1933 at the earliest.

I have a couple of blogs, www.scottishboating.blogspot.com and www.scottishislandsclass.blogspot.com and would be happy to post up anything you feel like sharing.

Best wishes

Ewan
Click to expand...

Hi Ewan

Just wanted to congratulate you on a well written and fascinating blog. Excellent stuff.
Regards, Stu
 
Yachts on the Clyde

Thanks Aja - you didn't by any chance see who took the picture, did you? lol Lots of info Ewan - many thanks.

Here are the other two images (B and K):
26.jpg
27.jpg

The photographer obviously missed the top of the main mast in Image B - but if you look very closely I think there is a porpoise in the foreground. Suspect my Father or Grandfather may have been photographing it, and the yacht just happened to be in the background! lol

I should add that while I think the images are the correct way round, they might be flipped horizontally - left to right. This won't affect the yachts unduly, but will influence the land in the background.
 
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Image 'K'

I suspect the photographer is more interested in catching the action. The yacht is 'hove-to' whilst a crew transfer is taking place.

May-be hoping for a slip or a tumble into the water?

I don't see either images as being in the Kyles. Hills too high unless down past Colintraive but then too much water.

Regards
Donald
 
Information from James W F McIlraith - Survey One Ltd, Renfrew.

The yacht that you were talking about "Zelita" K9 built by Fife in 1933 is listed in the Fast & Bonnie book in their pages. She is also in Lloyds Register upto 1962 - at that time she had the home port of Panama and the owner is a S.A. Leman but thereafter she appears to disappear from the registry.
In 1938 only a few years after her launching she is quite active in the south coast and I see from the racing results that while she was not a great performer she competed in Cowes Week 1938, but not in the prize lists and the 12m class. She was third in the Royal Thames Yacht Club at Southend. At the Royal Southern Regatta she had a second and the Royal Torbay Yacht Club she had a second, apparently owned at that time by a G.F. Carrington. Note that in some of these races she appears as an X metre boat racing in the under 50 ton handicap class.

On the other two photographs the yacht at anchor might be a Sibbick & Fay yawl built around the turn of the centuary. There were two similar sister ships - one that was up here for years called "Saunterer", and the other one called "Thelassa". You will note that this picture shows a Bermudan rigged vessel and not gaff rigged. The other photograph of the gaffer sailing out of the Holy Loch I have no idea what this yacht is.

(My thanks to Jim and to everyone else for their input).
 
zelita k9

the twelwe k9 was ZELITA.

She was built by FIFE in april 1933

The photo is of the then she was owned by CONNEL.

In following imagines that I have ,than the owner was CARRINGTON,

she had a different flag. The boat kept the original name

till the middle 80 th when she was demolished in ITALY.

I counselo all the enthusiastic of the twelwe class

to buy the new book of LUIGI LANG .

Best regards

Sandep
 
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