Haul of Mirrors
Sailing gala hosts world title clash for our famous craft
THE sea off Cornwall is covered in Mirrors this week... the classic dinghy which brought sailing to the masses, that is.
Restronguet Sailing Club is hosting the Mirror World Championships starring the build-it-yourself boat designed for the Daily Mirror by TV DIY expert Barry Bucknell.
Among those taking part in the biennial event near Falmouth will be the Beckley family, from Truro, Cornwall, who own the oldest Mirror at the sailing club.
John and Rowena, both 46, bought it for their children, Zoe, 15, Charlie, 13, and Jack, nine. John, a doctor, said: “Many people had Mirrors as kids. My wife and I learnt to sail in them as children.”
The couple paid £100 for the neglected craft, originally built in 1966, and spent £500 refurbishing it.
John said: “We repainted her bright yellow. The kids learnt to race in her and named her Banana Skin.”
Rowena, a physiotherapist, added: “They are instantly recognisable with their red sails and classic boat shape. They are great fun to sail – especially in a good breeze.”
Originally, the vessels could be built at home using copper wire, stitching and glue, and had a red sail to match the Mirror’s masthead.
At just 10ft 10in, it was big enough for two adults and two children but small enough to transport on a family car. It cost £63 11s, close to an average month’s wage, when it launched in 1963. A fully built new fibreglass one costs from £34,300 today.
Declared one of the 50 most influential boats ever by magazine Yachting World, more than 70,000 Mirrors have sold worldwide.
The little dinghy also launched the careers of some of our top sailors, including Olympian Sir Ben Ainslie. And earlier this month a fully assembled Mirror dinghy and an “exploded” kit got pride of place in a new exhibition on the history of plywood at London’s V&A Museum. Historian David Henshall told how the boat came to be designed by Mr Bucknell: “Barry was TV’s original handyman and used to go to a pub frequented by people from the Daily Mirror.” Mirror journalist Paul Boyle, an ex-Navy man, overheard him talking about DIY to build a boat and the idea was born.
David added: “A recent survey by the paper had found the number one aspiration of people in 1960s Britain was to own a boat.
“The Mirror would have realised that if it could produce the right boat at the right price, it would sell in its thousands.”
Barry’s son Jonny, 60, said his dad’s prototype “went like a rocket”.
Launched at the 1963 London Boat Show, it was quickly linked with that other icon of the 1960s, the Mini car.
David said: “It was a perfect combination.”
Easily transportable, the Mirror was advertised at the time with the decidedly dated boast: “And remember, she weighs less than most wives.”