Royal Western Yacht Club

The Western Yacht Club, as it was then called, was founded in 1875. Queen Victoria had been on the throne for 38 years, Disraeli was the Prime Minister and this was the year that Britain purchased nearly 50% of the shares of the Suez canal. It was also the year in which H.J. Heinz began to sell tomato ketchup! The club was formed at a meeting of yachtsmen at the Waverley Hotel, Glasgow on 23rd August 1875. The meeting, proposed in a letter to the Glasgow Herald, had as its aim the founding of a yacht club to encourage small boat and dinghy sailing in the Firth of Clyde and especially in the lower reaches, which were felt by those at the meeting to be neglected by the 'other two clubs'. These being the already venerable 'Northern' and the 'Clyde' which had then not yet come of age. The 'Mudhook', just two years old was not mentioned! At the inaugural meeting, several names were suggested for the new club - 'St Andrews', 'Junior Clyde', 'Clyde Corinthian' and 'Western', and it was only by three votes that 'Western' was chosen in preference to 'Clyde Corinthian'.