As part of its Golden Jubilee Celebrations, Arun YC is holding a three-day Open Dinghy Regatta over the bank holiday weekend, 29th April to 1st May.  We'd love to see a good turnout of Merlins who, many years ago, used to come to us in numbers regularly for an annual Silver Tiller event.  For Notice of Race and entry form please email [email protected].

Cheers.

David Robinson

David - Good Luck with your Regatta - Remember sailing with Ted Joyce in his original Ribbed Wide Roll Decked MR back in 1959 ish.
We even trailled it to do the last Silver Tiller on the Sea that year at Rye Harbour.

Was it called 'Pork Chop'?

Maybe "One Pork Chop"? Anywat fond memories of that long paddle up the harbour (Like Rye) to get to sea, but always a great meeting.

Antoine (Tony?) and AG are not quite right.  Ted Joyce's first Merlin was indeed a wide decked, ribbed Holt boat -  No 160ish I think.  But it was not One Pork Chop.  After the Holt boat Ted had an Adur (also with wide decks) No 600/700ish. I  crewed in it quite a bit.  Then in about 1960 he lashed out on a bare Mark 9 hull from Chippendale.  I went to collect it with him from Fareham and was very impressed at the way they lowered it from an upstairs window!  Ted decked it and fitted it out himself and being a butcher by trade called it One Pork Chop.

JC - Spot on in all departments. 
How about a new string - "The illustrious years of SMYC?"   Having given it a bit of thought - many of the would be SMYC contributors - regrettably are no longer with us.  But I am hopeful that many of the Merlin Yotters from the Thames Clubs that came down to Shoreham & entered our Club races in May & early June prior to the Championships as a tune up on the sea added enormously to the competitiveness of the Merlin Fleet.  This also included AYC & BRYC Merlins.
Bit cheeky to fly this kite in an AYC spot - forgive me - I was Racing Sec for a couple of years at Arun in Lisboa era - there you go.   Jan 1957 when I joined - Ted had the only Merlin then in the AYC - MR 168? "Jan"?
49 Years - where did they go?

Memory lane - Lisboa was the Arun YC clubhouse, a grounded ex MTB.  When the tide came in the gents changing room flooded.
As a founder and life member of AYC I am Iooking forward to the 50th celebrations this summer.  Many of the original Merlin fleet will be there, Jeff King, Francis Boff, Bernard Phillips, Rosie Botley and of course, the man who started it all - Ted Joyce
Sadly, I will be skiing in Val d'Isere at the time of the regatta, where to  bring me back to reality I hope to ski with the one and only Liam Dempsey!

Reality bites.