Jack Holts own Merlin number 16 "Gently" will be relaunched after careful restoration by Chris Barlow. Gently has been dry stored for many years and holds the record as the most successful Merlin at the nationals and is being relaunched at the Holt Centenary event at Wraysbury Lake on Sunday 8th July. 
Please come and celebrate this famous boat with us.
More details www.cvrda.org or roger @ cvrda . org

And other Holt Merlins will be sailing on both Saturday and Sunday - more boats taking part would be good. Modern Holt boats are as welcome as Classics and there's lots of prizes too. Details below.

Gently's record is infact shared with Seventh Heaven (3296). Winner in 1984, '86, '87 & '88 and 3rd in 1982. Also with the same crew on each occasion.

Gently was successfully re-launched at Wraysbury Lake Sailing Club (Jack Holt was a founder) and images are linked below.

Well done Chris and Mervyn - a lot of work has gone into Gently to restore her.

Gently has now been entered in the Classic Boat Restoration of the year. She is the only dinghy entered and Chris and Mervyn deserve the recogniton for all their hard work bringing this iconic boat back to the water.
Please take a little time to vote for her via the link below

 http://www.classicboat.co.uk/awards2013/

She is under the title european restoration under 40ft.

Merlins have been leading the way in the classic dinghy world so show the world that the classic dinghy scene is out there and its not all about enormous yachts and enormous restoration bills in expensive boat yards.

Done.

slideshow of the restoration - or at least the bits I photographed.
http://www.photobox.co.uk/slideshow?album_id=1657273747
I think you need to scroll down and click SLDESHOW, which is under the bottom picture.
Chris.
ps Mags how can send you some photos for the photo library?

Good Job. She is looking lovely.

Done, a brilliant job, history revived.

Chris, what a fantastic job you have done. Well done!

Fantastic! Makes me realise how lucky I was with Diabolo. Well done.

Chris and Mervyn have done a fantastic job on Kate. She really is an iconic boat and we are so lucky to have such talented enthusiasts to have restored her and got out sailing again!
So how about going on-line to Classic Boat and voting for her in numbers.
Wouldn't it be great to have a Merlin win this prestigious award?

OK - Meryn did a fatastic job on Kate too (that is his other iconic boat) but it is Gently that we are interested in this time.