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DUMBARTON HERALD 29 July 1869

MELANCHOLY BOAT ACCIDENT - EIGHT PERSONS DROWNED (continued)

On Thursday afternoon the body of the little girl McCrae was found lying on the shore at the foot of Glasgow Street, Helensburgh. An oar, a child's straw hat, a man's black felt hat, and a black straw hat were likewise found on the Helensburgh shore. The body and the articles found along with it were conveyed to the Police Station.

As mentioned above this lamentable accident produced a most painful sensation at Cardross, and not only there, but throughout the district generally, the McCrae's or, as they are more commonly named the McCraw's - being extensively known from their long connection with the Geilston and Port-Glasgow ferry, and their skill as scullers. The elder Malcolm, till within a recent period when advancing years began to tell on him, was indeed quite unrivalled in this mode of propelling a boat, and was well known at all the regattas in the West of Scotland. He had a spice of humour about him in those days, and used to show how lightly he valued his younger competitors by sculling without troubling himself to remove his coat or a dress hat which he wore, and anon by sitting down and taking a rest to himself and a mouthful of water, keeping a sharp lookout all the time to keep ahead of his rivals. > more [9]