The Mirror dinghy - life starts at 50!
by Rob Bellfield 22 Jan 2013 10:45 GMT
Navigators & General Mirror Nationals at Itchenor © Mary Pudney
How many sailors had their first sail in a Mirror? Sitting on the seat, with a picnic in the locker, and Dad or Mum on the helm, exploring the creeks, rivers and lakes all round UK. The Mirror Dinghy was designed by Jack Holt and the TV DIY personality Barry Bucknell in 1963 and rapidly caught the imagination of home boat builders. Massive expansion in the '60s and '70s saw the class reach 60,000 boats by the early 1980s, with every club in the country having a little red sailed boat somewhere in the dinghy park.
Where is the Mirror as it approaches it's 50th birthday? It still has the unique feature of being suitable for all ages and continues to introduce the future champions into sailing; while also providing a boat suitable for those more advanced in age to be sailed with a crew or singlehanded. Ideally suited for junior lightweights, and particularly popular with girls (more than 50% of the junior fleet are female), the RYA and the class association run training squads that feed into the 420 and 29er youth squads. Uniquely amongst the junior double-handed boats the fleet continues to have plenty of parent and child combinations at the front - including Ian Walker (Olympic silver medallist and Volvo skipper) and daughter Zoe Walker who won the 2012 Nationals. Or, parents crew as the budding skippers helm!
Leaking centre plates are now a thing of the past. Phil Morrison has added his touch to the new Winder-built Mk 3 foam sandwich Mirror. Together with a centre main, Bermudan mast and sophisticated controls the Mirror is now a light, modern and responsive boat. A larger spinnaker has contributed to downwind performance, with larger chute openings, twinning lines and sophisticated pole systems similar to larger boats. The symmetrical spinnaker is ideally suited to restricted waters. There are still plenty of good wooden boats around, the wooden build rules are being updated to simplify the build process with modern epoxies and to keep the weight and stiffness competitive with the Winder boats. Duffin and Trident still manufacture wooden kits - details on the Mirror Class website.
Join us in our 50th year. The west corridor at the Dinghy Show will feature Mirrors down the ages - it might include your old boat! There will also be a modern Mirror on the RYA Youth Sailing stand and the Class Association will be present on the Mirror stand to help anyone who is thinking of joining the fleet.
The premier event of the 50th Anniversary will be the Birthday Regatta at Northampton SC over the weekend of 13/14 July. Informal racing, prizes to encourage every aspect of Mirror sailing, a fine dinner and a chance to catch up with all your former Mirror sailing friends. Can you find your old Mirror and bring it back to life? Prizes for renovations and originality, and a special handicap system to ensure all ages of Mirror are competitive.
So - life beings at 50! Visit the class website at: www.ukmirrorsailing.com for more details. The 2013 Worlds are in Ireland at Lough Derg YC at the end of July and the Nationals at Pembroke YC in mid August. Details for the regional championships and open meetings are in he Events section on the website. Any questions e-mail Sarah Richards, the Class Secretary, at: