#Mermaid - Reversing the "terminal decline" of the once preeminent Mermaid class is the aim of the 64th Mermaid Sailing Association AGM at Skerries Sailing Club this month.
MSA secretary Des Deane has circulated details of the meeting at 8pm on Friday 27 November, calling on Mermaid owners and crews who have lost contact with the class to attended and help determine a "fresh approach" to how it's run and what sort of racing members want, among others.
A source close to Afloat.ie says the decline of the Mermaid "can be traced back to the fateful decision to abandon the composite glass fibre boat 'Dolly'" – designed in the mid 2000s in an effort to revitalise the class.
Our source added that "no Mermaids have been sailed regularly ... in any numbers since the '90s" from Clontarf Boat and Yacht Club, which has hosted previous MSA AGMs for the last 50 years.
And it's feared that the trend of leading sailors parking their Mermaids in garages across the country, or even selling their boats, will lead to an irreversible decline at a time when classic classes like the Water Wags and Dublin Bay 12-footers are enjoying a revival.
Afloat.ie will have more news from the Mermaid class AGM later this month.
