Iconic dinghies

[Ancient Geek]

Yes, that is a moment to savour iconic or not.
Some years ago (1999.) I was celebrating along with a few friends by sailing the water of the River Bure in a Broads Cruiser Running before a light breeze just short of Upton Dyke, in the dusk we heard the sound of Merlin Engines and looking to port towards Acle we saw The Lancster "City of Lincoln" with a Hurrican and Spitfire on either wing with their navigation lights lit making their way home to Coningsby four grizled chaps and two suspetable lasses shed tears and raised another glass.
Is that the the Grace Spitfire? If so in 1988/9 before Peter was killed and Caroline learned to fly it I was lucky enough to travel from Goodwood to Coventry in it, a never to be repeated never to be forgotten ICONIC moment in my mind anyway.

[suffolkmerlin]

It is indeed the Grace Spitfire, living about 3 miles from the old Bentwaters airfield, now in private hands, it is a sound that on occasions makes you feel proud

[Michael Brigg]

Coming back on topic, and linking the Spitfire of course, Fairey marine, is pretty ICONIC of dinghy sailing, along with Jack Holt, and later Harken fittings. The Avon Dinghy is familiar to most assotiated with any kind of sailing, as is the Seagull outboard.

Not a racing dinghy either, but we should not forget Swallow. That would earn you brownie points with MerlinMags David!! There were plenty of children encouraged into boats by her.

Then again, alot in sailing would be more to do with "Zietgeist." Something that represents the overall spirit of the age, as compared to an Icon, that we carry with us as a reminder, or for that matter a means of returning to the age. Or should that be "a means of keeping the Gloden age in question with us.

Don't forget that Tony Blair has been described as an Icon! (He's even in the School playground version of Rudolf the Red nosed Reindeer.)

So an Iconic boat has to be an individual, that in some way came to be a style that everyone aspired to.

[PeterV]

Can I add Lady Helmsman to the list? Year after year challengers came and then went away with their (cat) tail between their legs.

[davidh]

Peter

a good one and very much in the 'spirit' of what I'm trying to acheive. Had I been doing this just for DSM then the probable answer would have been 'no'..... but now I need to write for a new readership.

Would there be space for Lady H????/ - wait and see!

D

[Ancient Geek]

Again Michael sets the mind going!
Iconic - Dinghy sailing in the 60's when I think back I think of warm sunny Sunday evening driving back from regattas around the country Policemen leaning on bikes in villages just watching the cars go by, Salvation Armt Bands in the towns and church bells as we stopped to eat at an hotel or Inn (Pub Grub hardly existed!), these days it's a flog down an Autobahn or Motorway stopping to be ripped off at a service station no church bells or few because nobody seem to like the noise anymore and sadlt fewer Sally Ann bands. The Spitfire however was all metal but it was first built on the banks of the Itchen in Southampton.
Oh Times oh Daily Mirror!

[nprice]

Kate

[davidh]

Nick,

another good call......Kate.

The long list is getting longer

D

[Rupert]

Kate may well be an icon in her own right, but are the first boats of successful classes always iconic? I guess I'm thinking of development and restricted classes here. The first National 14 won't really exist, in many ways, the class being an amalgamation. Or is there one boat taken to be No1? N 12 1, Gypsy, probebly would be. The first Moth presumebly started the trend of falling apart in 300 yards...

How about in NZ and Australia - is the first Cherub legendary? Or lost as a discarded prototype? The 18footers have a historical wing, but I guess there the class developed from working boats, so there will be no real No1? There may well be Iconic boats in the class, though? Be good to find out about them.

In one designs, Firefly No1, Fe, started a whole new way of building boats, but it is more the class which is iconic, not the boat. In modern times, the first boat of a one design isn't even called No1, which shows how little the builders care about individual boats, so the first RS400 wouldn't stand out.

[davidh]

Rupert,

Spot on! In fact, I'd go so far as to say that it is a real task to think of any 'No 1' in a class that is also an Iconic boat! Back in the good old days (or bad old days maybe!) much of the boat building and developing was done along trial and error lines. So there may well be a considerable difference between a Number 1, Number 2 ect and the final class 'shape'.

Interestingl, I was out afloat at the weekend and saw an early Wayfarer with a number 1 on the sail........ was it number 1?

What I do know is that in a garage somewhere along the coast Albacore No 1 is supposed to be resident.....and in good nick too.

But if any No 1 was iconic, then Kate would be a good bet and for that reason alone is on the long list!

D

[Rupert]

Mirror No1 would be in with a shout, given how the class was introduced to the world. Maybe! And Dart No 1 was a very sucessful boat in her own right, but it possibly is more the class that became iconic with those unusual hulls leaving no doubt as to the class.
Hmm, which gives me an idea for another thread...

[JimC]

How about in NZ and Australia - is the first Cherub legendary? Or lost as a discarded prototype?

The first Cherub was Pennant Class #58 so its kinda complicated: in one sense she was no prototype but the class was founded because the design was regarded as sufficiently special to be worth basing a class on. The earliest boat we know of is #11, which is in Auckland Maritime Museum.

The issue is the survival of this stuff is mainly coincidence. Queenie's ex Nicola Bethwaite mast survives because I happened to get some garage space for the first time and managed track it down probably only months before the incipient rot became terminal. Queenie herself survives mainly because I happened to be offered her: I doubt anyone else would have preserved her. Her worlds winning younger sister QSJB4 has disappeared completely. She was known to have been stored for some decades, I've seen books that belonged to her then owner turn up second hand so its easy to imagine she ended up scrapped in a house clearance...

[Pat]

Kate was my thought too. Not just because she's number one but more because of Mervyn and how he's fired the Vintage Wing revival of the class with Kate as the shining example to follow.

[Nessa]

time to look ignorant again! who is Kate?

[roger]

Nessa, Dont worry I didnt know until recently.

Kate is the prototype Merlin which then went on to merge with the Rockets. Called Kate as she was funded by a syndi"Kate"