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I
settled down again, working at Haven Boatyard and finally, at the ripe old age of forty,
decided to try my luck starting my own business. I found a farm just outside Lymington
and Solent Dinghies was born. Working on dinghies, I specialised in the Wayfarer
dinghy, and with the association became a class measurer and taught dinghy sailing,
as an RYA sailing instructor.
I really enjoyed teaching and was so proud of my office in the Solent. What a way
to start a working day just teaching sailing. Sadly this did not pay enough for my
expensive workshops which meant I had to give this up. I became friends with Peter
Ament, who was the Folkboat agent for the UK. He started to give me work on
the Nordic Folkboats that he was importing from Denmark; Barnes Farm was used
to store the boats and parts he imported. Sadly, in 2006 Peter became very ill with
cancer and in 2008 passed away. It was an obvious choice to carry on his work. so I
inherited the sole agency for the Nordic Folkboat.
The first boat show in Southampton with Erik Andreasen was a bit of an eye opener.
We would start the day with Schnapps! Followed by another Schnapps and then
various other toasts! I think this was the happiest boat show I had ever worked on,
anything and everything prompted a toast! I continued exhibiting the Nordic Folkboat
at various boat shows, including the very last Earls Court Boat Show, which meant
so much to me as a small boy. My Father would take me to The London Boat Show
which was probably the beginning of my love of boats. Sadly, the market dropped off
with the recession in the UK and the shipping line from Felixstowe to Denmark closed,
making the import journey for new boats, so very difficult and expensive.
The boat shows gave me the opportunity to get out of my workshops, meet the public
and talk non-stop about this wonderful little boat, but sadly, the boat shows took their
toll and became uneconomical to carry on as the cost of the stands started to rocket.
London Boat Show 2008 Earls Court
Southampton Boat Show 2009
