a book weighs almost three kilos, has 500 pages and costs over 100 euros, I may be treading on thin ice when I claim that it should not be missing from the library of any self-respecting yachting enthusiast. »Alfred Mylne. Yacht Designer«, however, is not just another biography about a designer of sailing or motor yachts as there are already many. It is much more than that. This book transcends that simple qualification in a special way. The authors, David Gray and Neil Lyndon, have bundled 20 years of research and a great appreciation and love for Mylne’s work into a book that, in addition to providing an intimate insight into the life of Alfred Mylne, also en passant covers the many developments in yacht building and measurement rules during what was arguably the most interesting period of yachting. Indeed, between 1871, the year of Mylne’s birth, and his death in 1951, yachting developed from an incidental hobby or pastime in working boat-like vessels, through the mighty schooners and gaff cutters of European nobility and the American captains of industry competing for the America’s Cup, to the pastime as we know it today when mass production of yachts took off in the 1950s and it became accessible to all. These fascinating developments parallel Mylne’s life and the authors have set this out in an extraordinarily accessible yet meticulously researched, and historically and scientifically very sound manner. What makes the book even more interesting are the many race reports where the authors have taken the trouble not only to cover Mylne yachts but also to give space to the other contestants and their designers. In addition, they have chosen not as usual to only deal with the big yachts but really every type of craft designed by Mylne and his contemporaries. Cruising yachts, open dinghies, Metre-Classes and large motor yachts. Everything is amply covered. Thus, in a book about Mylne, you get a wealth of information about the other greats of the time such as Fife, Watson and Nicholson for free but also lesser-known designers pass by with their yachts and achievements. WHEN read more 94
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