Well we have all experienced change recently, but for sailing clubs unable to provide normal sailing/racing there has been a lot going on in the background. Local clubs to us  have all been reviewing  there  facilities and most have been making improvements where possible. The Harp have done a huge amount of work on the shore line, and we recently delivered a trolley  to Hayling for there newly acquired Pilot 500 to be used as an inshore committee boat.

I was delighted to see that Minz  had  won Y & Y’s  Concours D’Elegance this year, I photographed  Brenda  sailing her at Hayling last year, and I must say the boat on the water looked quite stunning.

As a bit of a traditionalist I  feel  you can’t beat  a varnished wooden deck, I know they are a pain and need to be loved and looked after, but really,  it’s all worth it.

Ben Dingwall has varnished  many different types of wooded boats, but Solos like this one look absolutely amazing I in  spite of  its age,  in fact sometimes the older the boat is the better it  looks!     Don’t forget this is a brush finish!

After the huge efforts to provide a new a committee boat and the amazing job the Welsh Harp Sailing Association have done on the  infrastructure  of the club, the Merlin open isn’t going to happen. It was always going to be marginal,  but we were hoping that because it was  the last proper Merlin open meeting for the fleet last year , this could have heralded the start of a new and more normal season.

 Mind you  the event is always cold and generally windy and  with three back to back races  its tough on crews,

                              Livvy we salute you!

Someone is in for a nice surprise when we are finally allowed to go to the sailing club!

Normally at this time of year we would be very busy preparing for the dinghy show, this year  would have been our 36th appearance as an exhibitor having started at Crystal Palace in 1985.

Pickets lock (1978 to 1982) although it was not open to retailers we were there to  support  the Merlin’s  and Wembley Sailing Club,  so the O Neill’s have been a  part of the Dinghy show for over  40 odd years!

It’s so sad that the club sailor who finds and restores a dinghy to a fantastic standard  (probably  a boat he sailed in his  youth), will not be able to take it, show it,  and let all of us admire it!

Like this stunning wooden  merlin.

Finally its not about the event, it’s about the people and meeting friends!

This is the first production 5.5mtr Rib trolley ready for the galvanizers and then on to the South Coast, the second one will  be welded up early next week.

We are at the beginning of the season,  but  this is like no other season we have experienced in our lives,  nobody really knows what will happen. Normally we would be preparing for the Dinghy Show, orders would be coming in and  it would be all hands to the pumps!   Buying in  some raw materials has been tricky but at the moment it all seems to be okay.

However we are very lucky that we have work

The Dam wall is being surveyed at the Welsh Harp  they have dropped the level by 2mtrs, so a big effort  is going on to repair the slipways.

To me it just look s like the tide is going  out!

The shop is now closed but we are busy manufacturing trailer spares,  decorating our stores,  taking trailer orders for later  in the year,  returning emails, and answering the phones.

Yet another  busy day at the office Jan 2015, on this occasion the boys were there to help, how times have changed.

Wishing all our customers, suppliers, and contractors a happy healthy 2021.