by Eric Knot

Concerning a Graduate dinghy, number 1095

We don’t achieve the superior heights of technical know-how, navigational skills, or practical dinghy handling recorded in the DCA Bulletins; but we don’t capsize!

Or we didn’t; we’ve sold the boat; Graduate — Meryl — G1095; to an agile helmsman half our age and with two/three crew members within the immediate family circle.

Oh! Ah, yes: we did capsize once, on Llyn Tegid (Lake Bala). We were racing. Not a habit of ours at all, but a young scion of a Camping Club family wanted merely to come first on the water. But he hadn’t got a boat, so he came aboard ours and Father bullied us to go round these buoys he had put out on the lake. Nothing to it — we do have a token recording first place on Chorlton Water Park in South Manchester. But we turned over instead of turning round one of the wretched boys. We surfaced and someone stood on the centreboard; it cracked and drifted independently to the surface. Thankfully Dad and Uncle took off the young ambitious crew, who told them how I had capsized his boat. I eventually made the shore. Remarkably willing hands hoisted Meryl onto the road trailer which promptly collapsed. The local blacksmith was away but returned to put the trailer together again, taking in some of the Rector’s railing as substitute welding rod.

P.S. I once sent out a distress signal on an inland water. No-one recognised it.

P.P.S. Lowering and hoisting the jib, that was.