On the Friday night of Salcombe, post bar closing, some local lads came to cause trouble with the Sambuca sipping Merliners that had gathered near the yacht club. Far from a Mod/Rocker style brawl, some frank exchanges of words were heard but then myself and Ian Batt managed to confuse them into holding what turned out to be a pretty good conversation. Unsurprisingly, they were pissed at the way Salcombe had changed in recent times. Effectively themselves, their families and their friends had been forced to move away from where they had grown up, and the blame in their eyes lies squarely with ‘rich yachties’, and the Merliners seemed a good target to confront.

Now this argument I’m sure would be a really good discussion for this forum, but the point I would really like to make is that Pwllheli seems to be in a similar position to Salcombe although a number of years late. A brand new Marina and Sailing Club is attracting an influx of new affluent people and the town is undergoing steep change. So, at the risk of sounding rather hypocritical, I thought it might be my place to urge some of the more exuberant of us to spare a thought for the locals when screaming at the top of our voices at 1am running down the High Street with a bottle of Gin in one hand and a set of clothes in the other. After all, they may not be so passive…

I sailed at a youth champs a number of years ago now at Pwllheli and when we left the yacht club at the end of the night to walk back to our B&B there were always locals looking for trouble, got chased back to my digs on a number of occasions. Always fun after a few beers!! Still luckly the locals also seemed to have had a few and I could get away.. Not been for years so I cant say what its like now..

Simon,

Your comments are most interesting.

I first went to Salcombe in 1982 and boy what a different place it was then. Don't get me wrong salcombe to me will always have a certain appeal , but when I last stayed there in June/July 2005 for the first time I actually thought it has lost something....and I think that something are the true roots of the town .....THE LOCALS!

For me now Salcombe is too commercialised and is a long way from the sleepy traditional town it was 25 years ago.

Simon, having this type of late night conversation with the locals is something of a right of passage - it seems some things never change...

An extremely interesting topic Simon.  I always found it ironic that the very same city slickers and their bonuses, who buy up properties in places like Salcombe, Beer, Rock etc are the very same clowns who have made pensions fail!  I feel for the locals, but I'll also bet that there have been some enterprising locals (as is the case in Rock) who have developed property to sell to the slickers!

As far as North Wales is concerned, I think you'll find locals less placatable, so Simon's warning is well placed.  I remember a nasty fight at the POW in Abersoch many years ago - some locals, some yahoo Mancunians with powerboats head-butting each other. Such class!

When we first went to Salcombe in the early 60s we paid 10/6 a night for B&B in the terraced houses along Island Street which I was told last week could sell for up to �500,000! It's a terrible shame but I'm afraid I don't really notice those changes because I go to Salcombe every July to see my old mates who don't seem to change at all as the years fly by.

Best to start organising the house-parties now then?

Time for somewhere new then?

I have to say I have a great deal of sympathy for the locals that have seen their home towns change so massively. In the 27 years I've been going to Salcombe it has changed so much, and in my mind unquestionably, some of the old soul has gone. 

One story that one of the lads told me that really struck home was that he used to work for White Strand Boat Hire, and one day during Merlin Week, he was towing numerous Dory’s  to the quay when a Merlin was forced to tack out of his way. He said the sailor was f'ing and blinding at him telling him to get out of the way because he was racing, but he had fifteen or so boats in tow. 

I can certainly believe stories like this, and unfortunately from that day he had had a vendetta against the class as a whole. Oh well, he seemed to appreciate things from our side after a while, but people do need to understand that some of these people are loosing their livelihoods arguably directly because of more affluent holidayers like the one yelling at him. Having said that, people have to accept that whether Merlin sailors are their enjoying themselves or not, times are changing. 

Anyway enough of this, it’s getting far to deep. See you all at Shoreham and enjoy Hayling.

There is no excuse for being bleedin miserable and rude though, which I was confronted with in a couple of the local shops in Salcombe. (It's taken all my strength not to name any of them)

Luckily for us the team at the YC are top class and friendly, if only that vibe could spread back to the rest of the town.

Fascinating topic, but one for Gordon Brown really. Not sure that MR sailors are buying second homes in great quantities, or depriving people of their livelyhoods. Problem is more widespread. My children can't afford to live in their home town (sorry city)of St Albans, and we never have MR open meetings.

How about anybody that grew up in any decent part of London or anywhere for that matter? - no sympathy for the locals whatsoever, they were very lucky to grow up there.  Move further out until they can afford to move back in, its the same everywhere!  Blaming it on the merlins is convenient when they are drunk and you are there.

Well as I am now a 'local' of pwllheli, being Welsh and  married to a welsh girl and father of another. The problem with the influx of tourists, and yes visiting sailors will be classed [sorry about the pun] as that. Is the apparent [whether it be there or not] lack of 'respect' of the area that annoys the locals.

Now I am not refering to merliners, but the locals do live locally, their 'gardens' are theirs and not toilets nor bins for tourists - get the idea. Of course tourists tend to be English, which leads to England not being Wales and so forth. Wales is an extremely friendly place esp. the lleyn, just remember to try and say thank you in Welsh. 'Diolch'

I can't even pronounce that word sober...

So the Locals dont want the millions of pounds that has been bought into their town then???  It is a rediculous argument  with tourism and sailing evens comes jobs and money, has annyone ben to some of the old sea side towns that have not had any cash injections from the like of sailing events and tourism ??  What dumps they are with Huge unemployment  and very poor quality of life!

I presume that last post wasn't directed at me!
However;

Quality of life you say. I live where others pay to visit, because the quality of life here is excellent. Having done the high flying Civil Engineering, Legal, Computer Wiz stuff, give me the quality of life we have here any day. The cleanest beaches and water around - why would you come here otherwise.

Do your offices have a sea view?

I have to agree with Miles - as a once a year visitor/tourist - boridar/borodar (how's it spelt?) goes a long way, the last five years of family holidays have always been great fun and very friendly

> So the Locals dont want the millions of pounds that has been bought
> into their town then

No, because most of them don't see one brass farthing of it. I used to live in a resort town when I was a kid. Its not great.

I think the influx of second home owners has definitely had a detrimental effect on Salcombe.  Whilst it will never lose its charm or beauty, the locals have been priced out of the housing market and if you are there in the week out of season, it is very quiet.  Some local traders may make a decent living in the summer, but there can't be many who are successful all the year round (apart from the estate agents).  This has got nothing to do with the Merlin Rocket fleet of course and so I hope we don't get too much grief!

This has been happening in rural England for years Simon,and your attitude is so correct,but if we can't run down their streets naked and pissed up,they,by the same token, can't intimidate us either,we're not responsible for their disenfranchisement...

A bit like Iraq really if the locals don't want you not a good idea to go!

I now live in Salcombe, and my first Merlin week was '76.  I agree that the vibe is different, but this this has changed in all parts of the country, the town cannot be preserved in aspic.

Having noted this, the class is different, rather less wood, and in those days nearly every boat had RB on the bow, time moves on...

A significant amount of property in Salcombe has been dedicated to second homers and holiday makers since Edwardian times, the Salcombe land company sold the plots for second homers which are the Villa's that predominate Devon Road. Allenhayes etc.

A big change is that there is little B&B or Hotel accomodation any more, another is the late licensing hours, which do not make the town a great place around midnight.

It would be great if low earning locals could live in the town, and there is new low cost housing in construction, but the reality is, as many Merlin owner's probably know that not everyone can afford to live in Hampstead or Chelsea, even if they were born there.

I am sure that the Merlins will always be given a warm welcome (no pun intended) in Salcombe.  The most important point is that we should respect the locals (as with anyone), we should also respect other water users (this attitude comes with age), not all water users have your skills honed from years of practice, but they might be equaly passionate about what they are doing, even if they are not racing.

Depends what you mean by locals, my understanding was that the "locals" were very much looking forward to the Merlins arrival. They pretend to moan but in reality they love us.
 
Take the Fortescue for example - for most of year this is a locals only pub, except Merlin Week where we share, I tell you why - we've been going there longer...

I just wish Gordon Brown would whack huge taxes and rates on second homes - unless they are rented out on six month plus tenancies to council tax payers(i.e. someone's only home) - as it would kill off a lot of the "couple of weeks a year and a few weekends" second homes. And yes we have many of them here in mid-Wessex villages and they kill village life, bringing even their groceries with them.

However the delightful Suffolk River/Sea Side Town/Village has a large temporary population but it is Bad Form not to use the Village Shop which stocks or will get anything you need, a superb butcher who even keeps fois gras, a shoe maker/repairer who does 48 hour dry cleaning 4 good pubs that do good food, 2 world renouned restaurants, "the young" are catered for by an active youth fleet running two weeks, there is and eclectic local boat builder, a local fishing fleet, two fish smokeries, a fishmonger, there is no local animosity to the itinerant, the young are polite and friendly and helpful, the older ditto wether they be local or incomer. The paper stall is run on an honesty box basis and makes a profit for the village hall, car parking is non-agressive. 
All in all a good place. It is used 12 months a year by its weekend and commuter population. Like everything else in East Anglia however it is cut off on one side by the sea and the others by the Roads and Public Transport System! But no worse than Salcombe. Only a £15.00 taxi from Ipswich.

ORFORD of course!

I think it depends on how you behave. I visit holiday spots in the UK and always treat the locals with respect. I see visitors act as if they own the place and I cringe. Do the locals not like the money coming in? Perhaps not if they have to tug the forelock!

Whilst I agree that times move on, they do not necessarily move on for the better.  I really fear, for example, that the time will come when towns like Salcombe will not have enough of a permanent population to keep facilities going.  Imagine if they struggled to get a lifeboat crew together!

Going back to the original point, though, I agree that it is important to respect residents and other water users alike.  I would hope that any incidents which may have taken place are isolated ones at most.

No reply to afore mentioned but just to let you know had an awesome week!!  Who Likes Guns n Roses sweet child O` mine cos is loooouuuuudddd on the sterio????????? Yotting was Cooolll? social as expected esp Charlie Brown bar diving with his crown jewels on display (wondered why we dropped him???????????????? The vampire is of to bed now???????????? Cheers AAAAAAAAALLEEEEEEEEZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

An interesting perspective from another group - Salcombe tourists who don't have anything to do with Merlins...


http://uphilldowndale.wordpress.com/2007/07/

The black and white magic of Merlin Rockets.

I mentioned before that here in Salcombe it is Merlin Rocket week, this is when the most enthused owners of theses beautiful boats get together to race. There are probably about a hundred Merlins on the water each day.



(I shall provide subtitles for land lubbers, I am only a ‘boat person’ by osmosis, and I am well aware that it is a sport that has a lot of jargon and ‘boat speak.’)

The boats are a sensuous curvy shape, they come in a range of glorious colours, and today I can see, citrus yellow, aqua, forget-me-not blue, tangerine, and lilac, ‘Chewitt’ purple and poppy red.

Some of the boats have a sumptuous wooden foredeck (if it were a car the foredeck would be the bonnet), that makes them look like baby grand pianos. The mainsail (the big sail) is a tad dowdy in comparison, a Teflon grey, it is battened (boned) in the shape of a bats wing, but it is when the boats are out on the water and they fly the brightly coloured spinnakers (the big ‘pelicans pouch’ shaped sail) that they look at their finest.

When all the boats are fully rigged (everything ready to go) and ready to get out on the water to race there is an almost palpable sense of anticipation on the beach, it can be a noisy affair with the wind snatching at the acres of sails and whistling through the complex rigging, it’s like a baying pack of fox hounds ready to cut to the chase.

So as you can read I enjoy watching the preparation and the racing of the Merlins, however I have a comment I would like to address to the crews and organisers of race week. Other beach users do exist.

I appreciate that you are here in a much focused frame of mind; to race hard and play hard, most of you know one another; we see the same boat names and families each year, we even recognise the family dogs, especially the long haired border collie / corgi cross, it quite simply looks like it has no legs, or that someone has buried it up to its tummy in the sand, it’s very cute.) But it appears to others that you are oblivious of anyone else on the beach. Each year we rather hope someone will ‘marshal’ the beach, that maybe there will be a gap left in the wall of Merlins so we don’t have to drag our dinghy round 70 odd boats to get it to the water or schedule our sailing to fit in with your race starts. Or that you might be courteous enough to notice we are struggling and help us pick a path through your boats

The strange thing is that on the water you are a very handsome fleet, (although the constant screams of WATER (boat speak for get out of the way, this is my bit of water and wind) may hint at the prevailing attitudes of some competitors, but somehow on the beach, a minority of you become a pack rather than a fleet. What really hacked us off yesterday (note, I haven’t touched on the amount of litter, empty bottles in the main, which we have seen left in previous years) was when the pack first moved our boat, to make a beach volley ball court (loads of room further up the beach, but you seemed attached to your boats by an umbilical as long as your mainsheet (bit of rope), then you dragged our boat across the sand to use it as an anchor for your net. (I speculate that you would not have even dreamt of doing that to someone else’s Merlin.)

So I went from enjoying a quiet read on the beach to having 14 grown men playing volley ball, less than two metres from my head, my book and face full of sand. Granted some of you were aware and commented that “we seem to be encroaching on other people’s space” but the ‘alpha male’ deemed it ok, (his family were enjoying sand free sandwiches 50m along the beach) and on went the match. I wish now I had protested more than I did, and if it happens again I will.

I have spent the last 20 years with men who race boats, and race them very competitively; from local club races to skippering yachts in round the world races, and there is something I’ve noticed, that they look out for and assist other boat users and they are sportsmen. Yesterday boys and girls your behaviour just wasn’t cricket.

But not to worry, you go home tomorrow; I’ll still be on the beach

Mark note and inwardly digest!

sometimes the feedback is well worth noting.

some key points for us to think about.

we are tourist attraction
watch our conduct (although loud 'water' cries are always misunderstood)
behave considerately

Would that God had the gift to gee us
To see ourselves as others see us.

Treat those as you would expect to be treated yourself.  Unless, of course, you're a masochist!

I'm local and I doubt whether the offenders were true locals! However, there is always a silly minority, usually pi**ed who can be childish. Speaking for many proper locals, who would apologise for that behaviour, I can tell you we all look forward to the Merlins and the antics on the water, especially when it blows. The economy enjoys it too as it a bonus week pre the real start of the season and brings action/money into the town. See you all next year I hope.

TO   Old News

It is difficult to tell whether this has been posted by you as a Merlin chap or not but if you would like to discuss the perceived problem with me please feel free. I am responsible for the sailing at Salcombe Yacht Club.
regards

Concerned about the stories of empty bottles and other litter left on the beach. Cant believe its us that did this, but any litter will be blamed on us by inference as the major beach user during that week.

Isnt Millbay privately owned - could they stop us using it if they wanted to?

I happen to know that:
The ownership of Millbay Beach is as follows:-       
The beach north of the stream is privately owned, through the East 
Portlemouth Foreshore Owners’ Association.  
The land to the south of the stream crossing the beach is owned by National Trust.
Haven't been there since 1964, but had reason to find out last year.
Last one off the beach sweeps up?

ancient geek is correct, Millbay is privately owned by a number of different owners, which is why we are very keen on asking for exemplary behaviour from the Merlins, and this is always forthcoming I am pleased to say. As regards sweeping up, we employ a chap to clean the whole beach each evening of the week.

No problem from this end. Have enjoyed many Merlin weeks at Salcombe. 

I happened to be looking for something Salcombe related and came across this piece purely by accident. Thought it was relevant to the discussion (although as my name suggests, I do consider it to be old news - for this year at least!)

See you in the summer.