Regatta prize-winner Duncan MacPhee of Scarinish

Photograph of Duncan MacPhee of Scarinish during a regatta prize-giving in 1984.

Courtesy of Mr Gavin MacIntyre

Fishing was an important part of Tiree’s economy from the early 19th century to the 1930s. The boat used by the local fishermen was an open skiff, sixteen to twenty-two feet long and rigged with a dipping lug.

This had a short mast and a sail on a yard with an open foot. When the boat tacked, the sail had to be ‘dipped’ around the mast, a difficult manoeuvre. However, the rig was well-suited to the long runs out to the fishing banks several miles distant from the island.

Tiree is one of the last places in Britain where dipping lugs are raced in a summer regatta. The late Duncan MacPhee, one of the older generation of sailors, is seen in this picture receiving his prize from the Regatta Queen, Lorna MacDonald, outside the Scarinish Hotel in 1984.

Colour photograph of prize-giving at a Tiree regatta in 1984.

Regatta prize-giving outside the Scarinish Hotel in 1984. L-R: Donald MacArthur, Balinoe; Duncan MacArthur, Balinoe (brother of 1); Gordon Straker, Crossapol; Duncan MacPhee, Scarinish; Duncan MacInnes, Ruaig; Sharon MacKinnon née MacAllister; Kevin Boyd, BT, Ruaig; Regatta Queen Lorna MacDonald, Crossapol/Balevullin; Donald Farquhar, Balemartine; Johnny Johnson, Milton; Donald MacKinnon, Sandaig; two unknown children.