I was browsing in a second hand store while Christobel was chasing down ‘name’ skirts when I came upon this classic by Jack Coote, the inimitable author of the long standing bible of the east coast – East Coast Rivers.

The book, Classic One-Designs, was published by Waterline Books in 1994. Sadly, Jack wasn’t to see the results of many years work: he died before final editing and publication.

All pictures with courtesy of Jack’s family and the publisher.

The acknowledgements page laments Jack’s loss during the editorial stages of the book’s production: there wasn’t a complete list of contributors – so I will add my thanks too to those that were accidentally missed out!

The book covers a gamut of one designs from around the world. There were and are many, many, more, however his choice is pretty extensive.

Strangely, for it has become a world classic, the Mirror Dinghy wasn’t included. Of the type, the Cadet and Optimist were. The Optomist, of course, is probably the classiest trainer ever designed. On the east coast, the West Mersea cadet week brings ‘hundreds’ out onto the water with their attending fleet of parent trainers – they make a colourful scene.

A little story here: Whimbrel was moored in the Quarters between Packing Marsh and Cob Islands during cadet week. A line of ‘Oppies’ slowly made their way over a tide down the fleet. We were having tea in the cockpit…

One, helmed by a young girl called to her friend; ‘Clara’ why are you going faster? No answer. Question repeated to a ‘Samantha’ coming up on the girl’s boat and overtaking.

Now, the iconic sprit main was sheeted in tight. I’d heard trainers telling youngsters to ease their sheets … so I called quietly, let the sheet out. The lass looked at me, then at Christobel, looked around and esed her sheet.

The boat picked up speed… Brilliant!

One design classes began in various locations where yachting was taking place at around the same time. The earliest is said to be a Dublin class – Water Wag – in 1886. These boats were the means for the ‘average’ middle class sailor to get class racing against like minded sailors.

The ‘Brown’ boats have the appearance of yachts of much larger size as raced by the rich of the day.

This class of boat has continued to flourish in GRP.

A smaller boat by far is the West Wight Scow which came into being in 1922. They are based on a few boats that were sailing prior to the First World War. Yachting Monthly called it as ‘a cheap and serviceable little knockabout boat’. Yes, well, they’re still sailing!

The two Royal clubs on the River Crouch produced two very similar craft, which in many respects is not very surprising: the river is the same for both sets of sailors.

The differences are minor indeed. This is true for another class I will come onto as well.

The pictures throughout tell their own stories. Anyone who has been on the River Crouch over a race weekend will have, like me, marvelled at these beauties…

The Aldeburgh Lapwing class are known to all yachting folk who sail into the Ore and Alde. They’re often to be seen sailing over a summer weekend. The boat featured in a novel by Libby Purves – Regatta published in 1999 – a story in which a deprived child is given an ‘Aldeburgh Summer’ by a foster family. The book is brilliant…

The boats often remain in a family for more than one generation, however, the class numbers have waned a little.

At first glance, these craft don’t look right, however they proved to be exceptionally popular and have survived for eighty years as a class racing dinghy.

Off the River Colne in Essex sits the creek-side village of Brightlingsea. It is an old fishing harbour and the dinghy class that sprung out of the end of the First World War has many ‘fishing attributes’ – sturdy, wide firm bilges and of clinker construction. I just love to see these boats working out of the creek and then later back to their moorings.

Down on the Thames shore of South Essex, two classes sprang from the drawing board of Morgan Giles. The Thames Estuary and the Essex – belonging largely to the clubs of those names.

The two classes were redrawn by Morgan Giles and the result was the Estuary One Design. Many of these are still owned largely at the Essex Yacht Club and are keenly raced.

It is rare to see one of the two original designs – one is known to exist at The Essex…

I don’t as a general rule lend my books, but I did this one to a chap, new at my yacht club, who was brought up upon the River Ore & Alde sailing a Lapwing. His father is seen in a picture and the chap’s own boat too… No. 5, I believe!

Yes, fabulous. Thank you Jack for putting this book together. It was a joy to read.

And too, it was a revelation to just see some of the little craft that were born during those far off days before the advent of GRP and the clogging up of this world with under-used craft of all sizes.