140 Sailing cruisers at London Boat Show

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James_Calvert

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In January 1978. (And this year?)

Just been browsing an old YM. If you were there, what was your dream then and what would you still lust after today?

Here's the under 20 ft collection for starters
18 Sailing cruisers under 20ft
Clipper15, Startrekka, Shipmate Senior, Crescent 510, Leisure 17, Seahawk, Skipper 17, Pirate, Bradwell 18, Foxcub, Sailfish 18, Sandpiper 565, Evolution 19, Hunter 19, Matilda 20 MkII, Prelude, Privateer, Leisure 20

I quite fancied the Pirate...
 
24 Sailing cruisers under 23ft
Cox 21, Corribee 21 MkII, Corribee Chinese Rig, Sunray 21, Anderson 22, Drascombe Drifter, Drascombe Longboat Cruiser, Haslar Kingfisher 20+, Intro, Jaguar 22, Striker 22, Westerly Warwick, E-boat, Atlanta Catch 22, Skipper 22, Eclipse Cruiser, Eclipse Racer, Hunter Sonata 7, Leisure 23, Pandora 700, Skipper 700, Virgo Voyager, Westerly Kendal, Westerly Pageant

Some more familiar than others. We always used to crawl around the Corribee. Everything down below seemed to convert or fold into something else...
 
I was there, and of that first list I fancied the Hunter 19 - it wasn't long since David Blagden had been smallest competitor and finisher in the 1972 OSTAR in ' Willing Griffin ' and hosted the TV series ' Plain Sailing ' before his sad demise.

We'd just bought her bigger sister, the Anderson 22 in 1977.

I remember the Earls Court shows with great fondness now - Captain OM Watts chandlery, seeking the least worse bars and somewhere to sit with a sandwich - we thought it a bit grotty but compared to Excel ( which I've tried twice, once too often and never again ) it was sailor's heaven !

I still have the brochures for most of the boats mentioned in both lists...
 
25 Sailing cruisers under 26ft
Achilles 24, Vivacity 24, Natural Magic, Atlanta Faroes 24, Foxhound, Rowan Crown, Seasalter 815, Westerly GK24, Dingbat ¼ tonner, Jaguar 25, Sealord 25, Tomahawk 25, Atlanta Plymouth 25, Sailfish 25, Stuart 26, Atlanta Rockall 26, Evolution 25, HR26, Marieholm 26, Mirage 26, Mystere Flyer 26, Pegasus 800, Super Seal, Westerly Centaur, Westerly Pembroke

I'm guessing the HR26 was at a bit of a premium even then.

Apparently no Sadler 25 in London though it has been at Soon?
 
Last list should have Seamaster 815. Bad autocorrect.

28 Sailing cruisers under 30ft
Trapper 300, Rowan 8m, Jaguar 27, Leisure 27, Sabre 27, Sunflair 27, Achilles 840, Maxi 84, Spinner, Contessa 28, Hydro, Marieholm 28, Mirage 28, Salters Stag, Seal 28, Seasalter 925, Prospect 900, Westerly GK29, Cornish Crabber, Dufour 29, Achilles 9m, Crackerjack, Atlanta 30, Comfort 30, Moody 30, Nicholson ½ tonner, Shamrock Club Racer

A French boat or two here
 
Just two more lists

25 Sailing cruisers under 35ft
Harwich ½ tonner, HR31 Monsun, Nicholson 31, Maxi 95, Westerly Renown, 101 One-design, Finnfire, Moody 33, Nicholson 33, Westerly 33, Atlanta 34, Grampian 34, Rival 34, Carter Ragtime, HR35 Rasmus, Dufour 35, Nicholson 35 Mk V

I think I'd be dreaming about the Nich 35.
 
20 Sailing cruisers over 35ft


Contessa 35, SHE 36, High Tension 36, Moody 36, Westerly Conway, Westerly Galway, Westerly Medway, Westerly Solway, Oyster 37, Stuart 37, Rival 38, Moody 39, Maxi 120, IW 40, Nicholson 40, Swan 411, HR41, Liz of Hanko, Contessa 43, Endurance 45 MkII

The Swan maybe?

Anyone for the ferrocement Endurance? That must have stopped the traffic in Pembroke Road.
 
I thought I'd get a reaction about a certain 22 footer...

I have an ulterior motive in putting up these lists. I've at last accepted that I can't keep over 40 years worth of YMs indefinitely so I'm reviewing and weeding. If anyone wants a copy with a particular ad or review in it from the 70s do send me a PM.
 
The London Boat Show in the 70s was certainly a lively event. I went to the 78 show, we'd ordered a new Westerly Pentland in Nov 77 and were looking around for bits and pieces. We'd had a trial sail from Bradwell on 5 November 77; it was blowing a 6 and was freezing cold. When we got back to the car we just sat there with the heater going for about half an hour before we'd thawed out enough to talk. Happy days!
 
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different world.

However you can see a fair smattering of those boats, particularly the smaller ones mouldering away in the back of boatyards. Dylan has lots of vids and photos of them.
 
Turned up the YM report on the 77 Soton show, already more exhibitors there apparently and talk of it taking over as the premier show.
 
Do you want them to be there showing the same boats from 40 years ago? The British builders didn't move with the times so got pushed out by the big production builders and that is what you see at theshow today. Yes there are less of them but don't they look a lot better? Some will obviously think not but I'm in the AWB catagory rather than the MAB one. Horses for courses.
I attended the show the last 2 years and thought it was ok. I probably wouldn't have went to London just for the show but combined with a weekend away and free tickets it was OK. I was 14 in 1978 so can't personally compare the two.
 
Up to the demise of Earl's Court Boat Show we always went to that and usually Southampton, even though the latter is nearer it always seemed a bit of a drag - and it's in Southampton...

I think the shows were sufficiently different in character that they could co-exist happily, as long as the financial demands on exhibitors weren't made unbearable.

The simple fact is, Excel is a horrid place with less atmosphere than the moon, and from here almost as difficult to reach by public transport - I vowed as a teenager never to drive in London again.

If the London Boat Show was in an attractive place and / or actually had boats of interest on show, it would still be a goer.
 
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Spyro said:
Do you want them to be there showing the same boats from 40 years ago?
Click to expand...

Hardly!

Apart from trying to generate some interest in my old mags I was hoping for people's ownership dreams from those days and what still appealed.

Feel free to offer your contribution from the 80s if you were too young in the 70s!
 
It's worth mentioning there used to be a lot of attractive sailing dinghies at Earls' Court too; that was where I first fell in love with the wooden Scorpion.

From the stories I've heard it was a fun job for the boat salesmen too in those days !
 
We went to Earls Court on the evening of our wedding, in 1965. In those days, weddings were afternoon affairs with the guests dismissed after a cup of tea, so we had some time on our hands. The show must have stayed open quite late, because we had dinner there before returning to our hotel. I believe there were some boats on show. I owned a Firefly at the time.

By 1978 we had had a Mystere for four years but the children were to expensive for us to think of moving up, so I would have been looking at chandlery and maybe sails. Boats that I admired at the time were such as the Hustlers and UFOs. Most of the small boats were amazingly ugly. We didn't progress until we chose a Sadler 29 at Southampton in '87.
 
I was at the 1974 show at Earls Ct when the IRA bomb went off.
We were given a warning and I went out the nearest emergency exit and after a few minutes BANG.
We then all wanted to go back in but were not allowed!
 
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