MR : John Stokes

Interview with John Stokes

We had an idea that it would be interesting to interview some the luminaries of our class to extract a few anecdotes.
With this is mind your magazine editor sent an intrepid roving reporter to Ranelagh to talk to John Stokes.
Pat Blake - Spring 2004

When did you start sailing?

I started sailing here in ’52 having sailed in the Army during the war didn’t come out till ‘46 when I had to go back to College and earn some pennies to buy a boat. I came here in ’52 and was welcomed by Bill DeMay who is still a member at 92. He said what you want to do is buy a Merlin now here’s a beautiful boat, 174 ‘Jezebel’ which I bought and then found out that he had been crewing it and they had their eyes on an even better boat that was available for sale!

I can say that I can still remember my first sail here, when I got to Hammersmith, jibed at the first marker and capsized and sat on the unturned hull with my knees knocking saying “My God what have I let myself in for”, but all the same I have hardly missed a weekend year on year since, its been a lifetime of enjoyment, I would recommend it to everybody. My first open meeting I went to Rye and we raced in the river in full gale conditions, we had poked out nose out to sea and then come back quickly. It was high water and Jack Holt made the best start and disappeared and won with Beecher. I made the second best start and everybody who wanted to overtake me I luffed them and they couldn’t get past as they came to the sea wall, when they went to leeward I let my boom out and the whole race I was pursued by all these experts saying out of the way you young idiot get out of the way. I was about the slowest boat there but I still proudly have a Conqueror’s Pint at home.

We used to sail the circuit up river in the days when Graham Donald was Commodore and said "Young man you are allowed to sail here on Saturdays but you will go to the open meetings on Sundays and show the flag” and that was the expected routine.
We sailed all the up river events, I learnt so much from my tutors at Tamesis, Minima and Cookham. We also went in those days to the open 14 foot trophy at Henley, which was dominated by the International 14s and gradually the Merlins went in there, we weren’t really wanted, we gradually built our numbers up until we dominated them. That was before Merlins were allowed at Upper Thames gradually they let them in.

We were like raiding parties that represented all the clubs in the London area, in the summer this band of desperados would forage the whole country. Before the days of motorways, Hollingworth Lake and Bolton were long way from home but one went in clapped out old bangers.
Over the years one has met an incredible bunch of people. Alan Warren goes on forever. My first Merlin week Angela was crewing me and he was courting her and a very wet week it was too. His father and mother were in Gazelle, 369 I think, they were always in the first six of the championships. You know Alan was only following his father and mother’s example they were superb.

Angela was crewing me and I think it was Monty crewing for Alan, because on the way back from Plymouth, we stopped off at Parkstone Yacht Club and we’d had another terrible night, I remember we couldn’t find anywhere to stay. In the end we finished up in a very seedy lodging house and an old crone came to the door and said “four of you is it?” three men, one girl, I’ve only got two bedrooms and two beds, you three men will share the single bed and we had the most uncomfortable night I have ever had in my life, somebody wedged in the middle of a bed that sloped to the centre and Alan and I climbing for the sides of the bed all night.

He went to the Olympics, one of the youngsters who decided that they wanted to go international. Alan Warren had a Flying Dutchman with John Harris crewing him at one stage. Then Brian Saffery-Cooper went into Finns and he went onto the Olympics and then onto Ocean Racing, as you know. I remember Brian in the winter season here with about 40 boats in club racing, then they were very militant minded, there was always half a dozen protests on the most obscure rules and I remember upstairs here having Brian Saffery-Cooper appear before me when I was a young Rear Commodore, Mike Hall was his crew and I said ‘any witnesses’ and he said ‘I’ll call my crew’ who came in and confounded him absolutely, everything that Brian had said his crew contradicted him so in the end Brian said “If it’s alright Rear Commodore I will retire” so I had the pleasure of saying “no Brian you will sit there and give us the pleasure of disqualifying you”.

Later on when I was involved in the Royal Thames Yacht Club I had the same thing, there was an incident in the (Solent) weekend racing. They used to hold their protests at Knightsbridge on Wednesday evening and I was informed that Brian Saffery was protesting Ed Dubois the designer. It was a very technical case and they were marched in. Apparently the Chief Racing Officer had asked “do you think John Stokes can handle Brian Saffery- Cooper?” and I said, I had disqualified him when he was a boy and had no problems dealing with the man! When he came stomping in and sat down he looked up and said “Oh Christ John its you!” It’s very interesting to see all these people, they’ve gone into other fields and you meet them again, which is marvellous.

What about when you were Chairman? You did two years but you were on the Committee for a long time.

I did 16 years on the Committee but I think in those days, I was a Flag Officer here as well, the Class always had the AGM at Ranelagh because this is where it was centred and it was springing from here, doing the job of Commodore or Rear Commodore here you were really doing a duplicate job, the same job as Chairman of the Merlin Class, because you were going to all the Open meetings, which the Club expected you to do anyway and the Club supported you going away – they expected you to go and do these things, at least Graham Donald did. You know I can remember in the early days when he said, “right we are all going to Cheddar and I will come with all the tents for all of you” and we would camp out in tents, it was a horrifying experience. We’d done it in the Army, didn’t want to go back to it, but he regimented us and drove us to it

Was Margaret sailing before you met her?

She was sailing at Tamesis, I think she was crewing for Brian Saffery Cooper’s father when I met her at an open meeting and I managed to dislodge her. She sailed in 14s, so we soon cured her of those bad habits. She was a very good helmswoman and very good crew and thoroughly enjoyed the company. That was the great thing - if you have a wife who doesn’t like what you are doing you are in dead trouble. We did several years as keeper of the class records, which meant that she did it! If anything hadn’t been done when I got home from the office at 7.30pm I was expected to help. She did the job, just as now she is race officer for every open meeting of the club. She doesn’t deign to do ordinary club racing, I’m allowed to do that. When you look at some of the trophies in the club, the trophy today it was presented in ‘46 at the start of the Merlin class and all the greats are on it, the numbers have gone down but the quality is still there.

I can remember as Chairman when we were down (at Hamble) for the Fossil Bowl and the King Pot and I had a new Mark 12 and we were going very fast, we had 90 entries and Nick Robinson lost control on the first reach. On both days it blew up to a gale, I had second on the Saturday having got to the line late, and just happened to be in the right place when the gun went. On the Sunday it was much worse. We paddled out to the starting line out in Southampton Water and them the gale came in and I think about six of us finished. As Chairman of the Class I couldn’t really retire - I’ve never been so frightened in all my life. I think Keith Musto won, I never saw him.

I was intimidated on the first reach, John Harris was in front of me plainly out of control and fell overboard leaving Sue playing the jib, she went on another sixty yards before she looked back and found she was all on her own. My cousin Colin was crewing me and I didn’t let him pull the jib in on any point of sailing for we were plainly out of control on every point of sailing - we went round Calshot Pillar twice – the whole of the Solent was full of wreckage. I went round second and one of the Hamble people came round miles behind us and proceeded to press hard and there was Colin saying, “can I pull the jib in” and I was saying “No, let it flog” so we had a third - but I’ve never been so terrified. If I hadn’t been Chairman I would have retired long, long before that.

How many Merlins have you owned?

Eight, and loved every one of them. Started with 174 and changed at about three year intervals. Then I had 239 a Charm, which was absolutely fabulous. That was the boat we took to Henley – it tacked on a sixpence and was untouchable in light weather. But I took it down to Whitstable and I always remember we were planing, doing quite well; I had Peter Clayton crewing me. A new Mark 6 appeared and this boat overtook us with a little girl crew, we were disheartened when he caught us, then the girl crew fell overboard and was trailing on the jib sheets and still they went away from us! I came back to Putney and sold that boat immediately. I’ve had Wyche & Coppock, Chippendales and Jack Holt obviously that was the boat we all had.

If you have a bad race you would go into the loft and there he was saying “I could put a few bits of old plank on here and there” and so you had another one. It was very useful; he was a great mentor and wonderful helmsman. You know those are the greats - Leslie Brain coming down from the north until he won the open meeting here and then never came back again - and Mike Astley - Mike Astley and Leslie Brain were both almost on the original Merlin committee, they were representing the Midlands and they were a very tough lot, they meant business with Peter Easton crewing Leslie Brain. We used to go all over the country and the whole of the south coast. I enjoyed every minute of it, only wish we could have it all back again.

When I first bought my cruiser I got a mooring a buoy at Warsash. The old Royal Thames Clubhouse was the Warsash Sailing Club as my boat was just outside I decided we’d better join Warsash so we could use the lavatories, and so on. I went in there and there was somebody on the floor sorting out signal flags and I said “Excuse me, I’m thinking about joining, can you give me any information and a head turned round and said, “Hello John”, and it was David Oddie, who used to come to my office, representing the north, he said “I’m sailing secretary, how big did you say your cruiser was, just what I’ve been looking for - a committee boat so the next six years month after month we did all the open meetings.

I think is rather sad that Merlins are virtually non-existent on the Hamble, whereas in our younger days it was an absolute hotbed. The committee used to dread the winter when Ian Proctor and all the young people on the Hamble used to hibernate and come out with ways of getting round the rules. I can remember having to write to them and say to John Oakley- “if you develop a boat with that sort of transom you could win the championship and I am directed to tell you that I will be expected to protest you for being out of class and what a pity if it happens”. Nothing new, it all goes on and it’s absolutely enjoyable

How do you think the class is now?

The committee are doing very well, don’t change anything drastically, I think the Class is really doing well, far better than many of the other development Classes, The 12s are not doing at all well when you see the number of boats they are building. Where as it is with great heart for that I watch Merlins out there and see my boat with Chris Edwards in it making a perfect start - so I know it’s me not the boat. I hope still to get back. I’ve had these medical problems but I’m still here, that’s the most important thing.

Salcombe is beautiful - having been there all these years, now that I no longer sail there, my children grew up with South Sands, that was our holiday whether they liked it or not. Now we go and stay at Hay Tor at a pub up there and come down to watch the racing and chat with all our old friends. We see all the old gang and their children and their grandchildren. It is the most wonderful gathering of the clan, and I think that is what the Class is all about.
When I look back and people talk about the youngsters and their terrible conduct and I smile to myself about the problems we have had in the past.

Tell me why we were banned from Weymouth; I never did work that one out?

It was very simple actually, Weymouth was one occasion where Rex King was like a father figure looking after all the youngsters and he was well into his Cups and he was eating plastic plants on the tables saying how tasty they were. At the end of the evening everybody left and on the way out of the pavilion there was one those cut dancing girls and one of the Shoreham people thought what a wonderful memory to take home and just picked it up; the bouncers grabbed hold of him and threw him out! Unfortunately there were 200 Merlin people behind and the bouncers got picked up and thrown out as well! It was a perfectly natural tribal instinct, all very innocent.

There was also a wonderful episode there when Dennis Ellis decided there was only one way of keeping the triumphant Hamble people at bay. That was if they dug a trench on the beach all round their boats so they couldn’t get their boats out. He decided to go onto the jetty where the railway finishes and get a spade off one of the engines where he was caught red handed by a policeman - who didn’t believe his story. He was marched round to the local lock-up and came before the duty Sergeant who didn’t believe him either - until Dennis suddenly said, “God, that’s what I’ve been looking for, a row of policeman’s helmets, can I borrow half a dozen of those to dig out the trench”, and at that stage he was thrown out the door.

It was Torquay, where I was Chairman. We had a very good week at the Royal Torbay. We got on very well with them and on the Saturday morning I took the Torbay committee to lunch and we all congratulated one another on what a marvellous week and I got back to the office and thought I’d better write a letter congratulating them and saying what an absolutely blissful week it had been. My letter crossed with a letter from their General Committee disapproving the appalling antics of the Merlin Class. A barrel of beer had been stolen from the Club and found floating in the harbour and somebody had pinched the RTYC doormat! So I said, right, I’ll sort this out, so I wrote round all the known drunks and Ned Sparrow replied; “Dear John, I’m perfectly prepared to pay for the barrel and damages. Pinch it and drink it, yes - throw it in the harbour – never – not guilty My Lord”.

In the end we worked it out that four minesweepers had come into the harbour and they had also been allowed in the Club with all our lads and they had dropped the barrel on the way up the gangplank. We got the blame for that. Someone had climbed up one of the yachts in the harbour and hung a lavatory seat from the top of the mast. Very innocent really but someone had pinched the Chief Petty Officer’s hat and they were very displeased - I just summoned Derek King and said, “Derek, I know you didn’t do it but I’ll give you 20 seconds to find it”, and the hat was produced immediately.

I was also Chairman at Gorleston and the local rep was Woodcock. He said the Council had given their blessing to use new Civic Centre and we were allowed to have that for our prize giving and reception at the end of the week but it must be absolutely pristine, there mustn’t be any problem about things being spilt or anything. So I thought there’s only one way out, I will collect a band of vigilantes, all the hard people, the troublemakers and they swore they would defend the Class’s reputation with their lives. Gorleston laid on a cabaret for us and there was a conjuror in a kilt on the stage doing his card tricks, Derek King was behind him trying to spoil the act! Anyway he carried on with his tricks and it was hilarious. Then grand finale - he said “that’s me finished gentleman”, picked up his bagpipes, started playing them and came striding off the stage and through the auditorium wearing a top hat which caught fire after a few feet! One of my vigilantes shouted “Fire” and there were soda syphons, buckets - the whole place was drenched. We’ve never been back there either!

My daughter came back from a Cowes week and she said “you’ll never believe we went to a Ball in one of these big marquees and half way through the evening Chris Andrews came in under the side of the tent, he crawled in without paying”, she said it was amazing. I said no, he always does that! I think the most wonderful party that I’ve ever been to was at Falmouth, where the Sussex Motor Yacht Club had a choir assembled and as everybody went up for their prize they sang. If they came from the north it was “On Ilkley Moor Bar Tat” and there was “(you can tell by the smell that it stinks like hell) Good Old Sussex by the Sea”, they had a song for every county and it was uproarious humour - it was absolutely marvellous.

That particular year, in Falmouth there is triangle, like a Merlin sign, on a rock in the middle. Going out to the start there was Barry Dunning he had climbed up and was sitting on the top shouting for help. These things one remembers.

Another year at Plymouth when transom flaps were being considered a member of the committee was allowed to cut holes in his transom. I think Robert Lee-Warner was Chief Race Officer and it was blowing like the clappers and he decided that there was only one way before we cancelled, we would send a volunteer from the committee to sail round the course to see how he got on and Ned Sparrow (the one with the holes) was selected but unbeknown to us he had been onboard Harry Harris’ boat all night long drinking his brandy empty and he was paralytic really.

They put him in his boat and off he went, he had a vast crew of about 16 stone or so in those days and they lumbered out to sea in the gale winds with no trouble at all bolt upright, got out to the gybe marker, out by the break water, bore away gybed, nobody in the boat moved - great splash as they capsized into the water. They climbed into the upturned boat, pulled it upright, no problem, bent down did something and it rose like a submarine out of the water and immediately the whole Merlin Class went off to Do It Yourself buying saws and sawing the backs out, that was it, that was how it was passed!

I’ve enjoyed every minute of it and still do watching and still hope to get back in a boat soon but at 78 there is a limit.

John Stokes - thank you very much.