The following story, by Paul Hughes, appeared in the Daily Mirror, Thursday 2nd January 1964, page 8 so the report text is © Daily Mirror. Also thanks to the www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk .
Ahoy give boat men more room
Plea by First Lord
The need for more " parking space " for boats was emphasised yesterday Lord Jellicoe, First Lord of the Admiralty.
Opening the Boat Show at Earls Court, London he said that a quarter of a million people go sailing round Britain's coasts. The Minister added: "And these boats are chasing too few moorings. We have got to provide some facilities for them." Lord Jellicoe said that many more reservoirs could be used for dinghy sailing and that gravel pits, rivers and canals could be further developed. He added: " It is good to learn that things are at last moving."
Marina
“In the South and the South-East there are now proposals for yacht marinas at Poole, Lymington, Gosport, Warsash, Chichester, Brighton, Folkstone, Sheppy and Alvington Castle on the Medway” A marina is parking place for boats. One answer is to the lack of parking was on show – a dry land marina. This scaffolding structure can be used to park boats in pieon holes, like a multi-story car park. The boats are stack by a forklift truck.
Among the most popular exhibits was the “Boat of the Year” the red-sailed Mirror class dinghy, sponsored by the Daily Mirror. The dinghy, costing only £63 11s. in kit form, is featured on Stand E.3 and E.7, on the main aisle. In only a year's sailing, already nearly 900 of the dinghies have been sold - a record for a new class.
Boats varying from the most simple to the luxury yacht with central heating are on display. On one side of the hall, 60-year-old John Christmas Thomas is making coracles —round, basket - like boats which were used by the Ancient Britons. John, a roadsweeper, usually makes them in his workshops on the banks of the River Teify, Cardiganshire. They cost £12. On the other side of the exhibition there is the £22,700 "Emmeline," which can cruise for 700 miles without refuelling, The show is organised by the Ship and Boat Builders' National Federation and sponsored by the Daily Express.
There is also a British Pathé newsreel of the event. The Mirror dinghy is not mentioned, but it gives a good idea and feel of the show.
