Restored �Kate� Merlin No.1

Mervyn Allen has done a fantastic job of restoring the original Merlin-Rocket prototype Kate. I got roped in to take some photographs of the newly restored machine earlier this spring for various articles that are coming out.

It really is a remarkable story about the syndicate of Ranelagh Sailing Club members, lead by Jack Holt and Beecher Moore, who had a vision of a light, cheap, high performance racing dinghy that could be sailed by a couple, or two normal sized guys. This boat was a breakthrough in racing dinghy development. Not least because of the enlightened way that they set up the class structure allowing controlled development even by amalgamating with the competitive class, the Rocket, when it came along. Anyway the history is well known but when you see this boat restored back to it�s original condition it is very evocative of times past and a reminder of the tradition which has given, and still does, so much fun for so many of us. Berry Ritchie has written an article for Traditional Boat magazine due out soon and there is a piece in Yachts and Yachting, mid May edition. Here are some of the pictures that I took of Mervyn Sailing �Kate� at Ranelagh and an old black and white shot that we found at Ranelagh of Kate racing on the Kings Reach in the centre of London in 1949. Look how strong the class already was!

Pat Blake