The latest DCA membership list reveals again that we go cruising in almost anything that floats, from canoes to small yachts. The range is very wide though, as in previous Top Ten counts, some production dinghies are clearly the more popular. It is also clear that most hail from the heady days of the 1960s when increasing affluence allowed those who had achieved their 'mod-cons' and cars to look for further lifestyle acquisitions. Promoting this mood, the Fleet Street papers included dinghy sailing; e.g., the News Chronicle announced the 'Enterprise' and then the Daily Mirror the 'Mirror 10' and then the 16; all available as flat-packs for home building. Much of that phase abated; many sportsmen left dinghies as such for craft one sat or stood on rather than in, like the Laser, the sailboards and small catamarans. This time, I am happy to see my own choice of 1968, the Otter, appear in the Top Ten. It served me well for 30-odd years and is still sailed by my daughter Jenny and her boys.

Rank Number Class

1 32 Wayfarer 2 29 Mirrors ** 3 20 West Wight Potter 4 18 Wanderer 5 14 GP 14 and Tideway 6 9 Enterprise 7 8 Drascombe Lugger and Roamer 8 7 Cornish Coble, Drascombe Dabber, Gull and Lune Whammel 9 5 Cormorant, Heron, Laser 13, and Skipper 17 10 4 Drascombe Scaffie, Leader, Lune Longboat, Lune Pilot, Otter and l4ft. YW Dayboat

This year's list does not fully distinguish between Mirrors 10 and 16, though there are probably more of the former.