Fairey Atalanta A142 Sugar Plum, being a mature lady, needs a lot of maintenance. Living in the north of Scotland, she’s stored over winter in a building for her protection from adverse weather and to allow maintenance appropriate to the temperature.
Her summer mooring is at Arisaig, a six hour drive from home, and so it’s essential that everything needed for her launch and commissioning is carefully checked and loaded before leaving home.
I have an orange tidy tray for the small and unique items and a written checklist of both its contents as well as everything else needed.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Greg Manning
After many years of military service and being a North Sea helicopter pilot, Greg Manning retired as a major and bought a Fairey Atalanta, which he has refurbished extensively. Greg always sails on the West Coast of Scotland.
In 2019 it was probably the 17th time I have prepared for the long drive and the launch. My friend, Steve, had volunteered to help. It was the first Sunday in June when we set off. Steve is a very practical person and always has his mind on the task in hand; I could not have asked for a better friend to help me.
With the boat’s internal sling we launched at Arisaig using a
