THE ORIGINAL CRUISER RACER

Having written of his distaste for the smaller Metre boat classes in the October 1910 issue of Yachting Monthly, the following month the correspondent known as MINA was clearly delighted to be able to write about “another case of the realisation of ideals”. MINA was reporting on a new design by Alfred Mylne, several of which were about to be built by John Hilditch of Carrickfergus. “The founding of this class is a notable event,” he wrote, “and its working will be watched with great interest. The owners will be able to race or cruise at will, and the little yachts fittingly materialise the suggestion recently offered in these columns.”

This new class – officially called Island One Designs but often referred to as the Yawl Class – was adopted by two clubs in Belfast Lough: the Royal Ulster YC and the