#Mirror - The Mirror newspaper has paid tribute to its namesake dinghy, which features in the top 10 of Yachting World’s list of the most influential boats of all time.
Launched in 1963 and aimed at the same market as the newspaper from which it took its name, the Mirror dinghy was conceived to be an affordable home build, but with practicality very much in mind.
Not only could it comfortably accommodate a family of two adults and two children, it was compact enough to be carried on a car roof rack without need for a trailer.
Significantly reducing the cost of entry into sailing as a pastime, it’s little wonder that Mirrors are still seen in big numbers around the British and Irish coastlines.
In fact, the design is undergoing somewhat of a revival, particularly among younger sailors, as Tom McSweeney discusses in a recent This Island Nation podcast.
The Mirror is the only class to feature in Yachting World’s top 10 picks for yachts that changed the way we sail, placing seventh in a list topped by William Fife III’s 1911 Fairlie 19 gaff cutter Marquita.
The next class to appear on the magazine’s list of 50 sail-changers is the Class 40, placing an impressive 18th for a design barely a decade old.
Mirror Online has more on the story HERE.
