It was with much regret that I heard of Tony passing away. He was
without doubt the "Father" figure of our pastime. Tony's hulls set the
standard in size (1/24th), layout and the performance. Later his 30
inch models set a second standard size for smaller models. Everything
about our model barges today seems to have stemmed from Tony.
After buying one of his barges I sailed it at an AMBO race meeting at
Herne Bay. Amongst the contenders was Tony. I seemed to be doing
remarkably well for my first time out. My attention wandered as I
watched a model veer off course after making the second buoy on the
first leg of the bowsprit class. The model caught in weed (which was a
problem at the time). Nobody seemed to be making a fuss about this
wayward model so I concentrated on keeping the good lead I had built
up. When it finally dawned on Tony that the barge in the lead was the
one he sold to me and the one in the weeds was the one he should have
been keeping an eye on the air turned blue!! A lesson learned. He took
it well with much muttering from him and a good barracking from his
fellow competitors! It was (if I remember correctly) the first time out
for his model "Arctic". He'd covered the keel with a carrier bag
causing a stir a la America's Cup!
I for one will miss his unique dry humour at the pondside.