One of the sails bearing 'festina's boat number, J23

Ready to leave a damp Chesterfield en route through the Peak District to our workshop in Royton. I am looking forward to getting 'Festina' out of the weather and drying out properly. I have rented the workshop for four months, after that she will be stored in the Lake District or possibly Scotland.

Mast, sails and other assorted bits and pieces lying in the garden. Some of the old canvas sails are a health hazard, I plan to cut out the makers mark and date stamps and despatch them to the local dump. The newer sails still have a fair amount of life in them.

My first exploratory session with Varnish stripper and sander. some of the upper surfaces have suffered staining and discolouration due to poor maintenance. Varnish has been alllowed to crack and water has got under the surface to damage the wood. No structural damage has been caused but the staining may be irreversable.

The oldest sail bears a marking from the makers, Ratsey and Lapthorn, and is dated 1954. A real assortment of sails were collected together with 'Festina'. Several jibs, three mains and two spinakers. Some dated from 1954 as marked above, 1958 and onwards. the most recent sails look as though they are almost new.

The large wheel is used to assist with raising and lowering the dagger board, the oblong hole to its right is where the heel fitting for the mast should be, it is missing. If a replacement can be found it would be great but with the skills available we can fabricate one from scratch if required. All we need to know is what it looks like!

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