A POLISHED ACT

avey & Co is one of those British marine companies that has entered folklore. The name is as ubiquitous as the sky over our heads, but that level of fame is paradoxically quite risky for a company. I remember another great pillar of British yachting history, Ratsey and Lapthorn the sailmakers, explaining that many customers just didn’t seriously think they could possibly still exist, such is their place in the imagination. Davey suffers the same effect. I put my theory tentatively to Jeff Webber, the new MD, who concurs immediately. “We do hide in plain sight” is how he puts it. The truth is that Davey has never been busier since coming under the new ownership of John Buckley, who also owns Harbour Marine Services, earlier this year. Their latest premises is a modestly attractive, large industrial building on the outskirts of Colchester, filled with the optimism of light and air. There’s an air of industry