Freddie Baxter

Nautical cap-wearing Freddie Baxter was a leading member of the Weatherfield Sailing Club. Jerry Booth had built his own boat, a heron-class dingy which he named "Shangri-La", and wanted lessons in how to sail the vessel. Baxter was due to give a lecture on navigation to the sea cadets at the Community Centre and Jerry met him there to ask for his help. Baxter mistook Jerry for the caretaker of the premises and annoyed the builder when he said that the lecture wasn't for models but real boats. When Jerry put him right, Baxter laughed at the idea of a boat in a back yard. After a drink in the Rovers where Bet Lynch made typically suggestive remarks about sailors, Baxter agreed for Jerry to be proposed and seconded to the club. He went and saw boat in the Builder's Yard mistaking Ray Langton, Ken Barlow and Alan Howard who were there for Jerry's "staff". He was unimpressed by the boat and walked out of the yard, laughing.