If you have a classic dinghy (by the broadest of definitions) you are welcome and you are supported. Some of the boats are spectacular and some them look like they have been dragged of the rafters in the garage for the first time in forty years.

“Wife and I dragged the Mirror out of the shed where it has sat, unused, for 20 years. Started first time. Had a ball at the Invy regatta, highly recommended, great club and people.”

What makes it different to the previous six books in this column is that it’s an adventure brought on by necessity rather than free choice.  It’s a story that is playing out in some form or another every day of the year in 2021, whether it be in the Mediterranean, the Indian ocean or the Caribbean. Normal people, whose mere existence is under threat, take to a small boat, to escape to a new life. 

It’s a good time to re-introduce inexpensive ply kits. Mirror enthusiasts from the 1960’s and 70’s are now parents and grandparents wanting to share Mirror Love with a new generation. So write Charlie Salter and Jaemie Wilson.