I grew up messing about in small boats. My childhood summers were spent in a remote Highland sea-loch and there were toy boats to sail, then lilos, then an inflatable canoe, and of course our clinker-built 12ft dinghy (with Seagull outboard) which took us on expeditions all over the loch. I still have that boat, and to look at her now it’s hard to believe that our crew of two adults, three children and a Siamese cat wouldn’t hesitate to travel a fair distance aboard!
We moved to Edinburgh just before my gap year, and I got my sailing dinghy, a1962 12ft 6in Graduate called Lady Blue.She was old-fashioned even then, still with the rolled side-decks that everyone else was stripping out, and a wooden mast.
I learned to sail in her, going round the regattas, and as 1976 was a particularly windy summer, I capsized all round the Forth. My crew and I discovered that the despised rolled decks were not only much more comfy than narrow gunwales, but also meant that when she capsized she floated high, and then righted with only a couple of inches of water inside. This in turn meant we could open the self-bailers and sail on while others were still furiously bailing out.
Cramond, our club, was tidal, so we teenagers would meet up as a group of Grads just as the water was disappearing, and explore the nearby islands until the tide let us in again.
This story is from the January 2021 edition of Practical Boat Owner.
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This story is from the January 2021 edition of Practical Boat Owner.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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