As the 1st of December marks the official start of winter, and for the vast majority of sailors, the end of both the racing and sailing seasons. I am already seeing signs of the discerning boat owner beginning to plan their winter maintenance schedule. What with the flurry of early snow and emerging boat shows, now many are looking beyond Santa’s stocking and are shopping around for those key replacement fittings and accessories, or that new piece of equipment you had been promising yourself all season, but didn’t quite get around to ordering.

For the dedicated or the purist who will involve more loving, or arduous tasks, of rubbing down, varnishing, painting or polishing hulls and spars, to try to occupy the time before they can rub their hands together and get back on the water. But for me, whilst I’d love to be speeding around the bay on my foiling Moth, on a sunny but frosty day, I know consciously inside that I’ll be happier staying in the warm, planning for more appealing weather again. Instead, I can easily convince myself that I’ll be too busy helping our customers move on with their programme maintenance and boat tweaking anyway. After all, that way I can say I’m doubling that feeling of contentment.

On behalf of the Barton Marine team, we wish you a very happy Christmas and look forward to working with you in the new year!