Report of DCA London Winter meeting talk by Dr Stephen Riley, Curator of Models at the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich.

The only problem with Stephen Riley’s fascinating talk was that he could not think of a title that would cover his subject properly — nor can I!

The talk began with that great pioneer canoeist, John (Rob Roy) Macgregor, who cruised great distances in Europe and the Middle East in his Rob Roy canoes, which he had developed from both Eskimo and Canadian canoe origins. Other pioneers under discussion included the famous Joshua Slocombe (I did not know that prior to his singlehanded circumnavigation of the world he had sailed his family home from South America in a 35’ canoe he had built himself). Dr Riley then indicated how the line of development led to that brilliant amateur yacht designer, Albert Strange, with his lovely little canoe-sterned yawls, of which some 150 were built, of which about 70 are still sailing today.

Many of these early craft would not look out of place at a DCA rally, although their owners dressed in collars and ties might cause a few raised eyebrows. Several of the actual craft under discussion can be seen at the National Maritime Museum including one of the original Rob Roy canoes, which was found in, of all places, Tel Aviv. The National Maritime is of course only a short train or waterbus journey from central London and is a must for visiting DCA members. It is worth noting that there will be another ‘Wooden Boat’ exhibition outside the museum from 7-10 June (but not opening until midday on Sunday). Perhaps we could have a lunchtime meet there?