My family joined Colemere at the beginning of the 1973 sailing season. My Father, Don Murphy, had bought Pegasus 204, and discovered that Colemere had a small active Pegasus fleet at the time. After 12 months of not really getting on with the Pegasus, Dad sold the boat to Tony Hanan and bought Fleetwind 572 – this is when we both started to learn about racing. Colemere in the mid 1970s had the largest Fleetwind fleet in the UK, probably about 22 boats, of which 10-12 would class race each Sunday. My Dad bought a Fleetwind for me in 1975 and we both continued to race each weekend single-handed with modest success.
I joined the Army in September 1976 and returned occasionally during leave periods to join the racing. Dad sold the Fleetwinds late 70s and bought Solo 2366 which he regularly sailed, winning the Solo Trophy one year in the 1980s. Dad finally sold the Solo in the early 1990s within the Club and let his membership lapse at this time.
Dad died in 2004 and when going through some of his old papers, I discovered an old Colemere newsletter, beautifully typed by Jim Wilson, from Sep/Oct 1976. Dad must have saved the newsletter as we are mentioned several times. I have re-typed the contents, as Jim’s paper was unsuitably sized for scanning – no text changed honestly. I think that you will find the newsletter interesting and somewhat controversial; imagine the stir caused by the article on the final page. Please see attached and feel free to post on the Colemere blog – current members will be amused no doubt.
Steven Murphy
Enterprise 21584
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