Upon Reflection is an appropriate name for another resurrected Mirror dinghy which has found a new home at Lough Erne Yacht Club.
It’s not often boats are the subject of an exchange deal, but that is what happened when Paul de Fleury got his hands on a very old Mirror dinghy, for which Lough Erne YC gifted a GP 14, and it is now sailing on Upper Lough Erne.
It seems it is a couple of years older than the other Mirror restored by Brian Osborne and now sailing on Lough Erne. This one, sail number 29429 and apparently built in 1971 was at Newtownards Sailing Club, and as NSC is a GP14 stronghold, it seemed sensible to exchange it for a surplus Lough Erne YC GP 14.
No.29429 was fully refurbished by Mark and Paul de Fleury in their garage in Carrickfergus and apparently, it took longer than had been hoped owing to the Covid outbreak. And although the hull, mast and spars were in a reasonable state for its age, it did need new sails.
Michael Brines of Lough Erne Yacht Club tells me the Mirror is owned by the club and is regularly used for training in Goblusk Bay on the eastern shore of the Lower Lough. Michael’s son Peter and daughter Emma are hoping to compete in Upon Reflection at the Mirror Worlds in Sligo in July next year.
