Malcolm Mackley, retired academic and Salcombe Yacht Club (SYC) member, has written a novel about the people, places and life in a SW estuary community. The thriller, Daymouth, is thought to be loosely based on Salcombe and its residents, and it has become a talking point.
Malcolm (70) was a Professor of Process Engineering at Cambridge University for 30 years, and has been a keen sailor since childhood. He and his wife moved to Salcombe when he retired in 2011 and he races his Solo every week at the club. The Solo fleet includes many ex-international champions, but he often manages to put them in their place!
In honour of his determination and perseverance, and his reputation for ‘taking a flyer’ which sometimes wins him the race, the club gives out the ‘endeavour’ Mackley Moment award after races – a copy of Daymouth. Recent recipients of the award were an RS400 team who travelled for over 10 hours from Scotland to race at Salcombe!
Jayne Morris, Sailing Co-ordinator at SYC, is delighted by the novel: “It draws attention to the sort of stories you find in any coastal town – where you have the established families, the newcomers, the lifeboat family, and of course, it reflects the sailing club at the heart of the community,” she explains. “I loved that it touches upon controversial topics, including the tight-knit locals and incomers and the need for everyone to get along, planning issues, local drug problems and migrant trafficking as well as identifying the geography of Salcombe and the traits in characters of people we can all identify with!”
Daymouth is published by Troubadour.
If you have a story about how your club participates in the local community, contact RYA SW Regional Communicator Manya McMahon.
