Wessex Resins & Adhesives supports the restoration of Lively Lady
by Jake Kavanagh 28 May 2018 04:00 PDT
The plan is to restore the yacht to full sailing condition, as she was here in 2006 as she departed on her 27,000-mile circumnavigation with a crew of disadvantaged young adults © WSI
Products from West System International and expertise from the UK-based technical team have been donated to a charity attempting to revive a piece of sailing history, the 36ft sailing yacht Lively Lady.
One of the UK's most iconic sailing yachts is undergoing a major restoration with WEST SYSTEM® epoxy playing a key role in preserving her for the future. The intervention has come in the nick of time as the yacht was in a very poor state of repair.
On the 16th July 1967, local greengrocer Alec Rose set sail from the UK's Portsmouth Harbour in his 36ft wooden yacht Lively Lady to complete a single-handed circumnavigation of the globe. Some 28,000 tortuous miles later and with just two stops at the halfway mark, both returned to a hero's welcome on 4th July 1968. Around 250,000 people turned out to welcome them home. Knighted a day later, Sir Alec had successfully overcome loneliness and hardship to prove that such adventures were within the grasp of the ordinary citizen.
In 2006, after an extensive refit of her then 60-year-old teak hull, the famous yacht set off on its second circumnavigation as part of the Around and Around charity set up by local adventurer Alan Priddy. This time the crew was made-up of a relay of 38 disadvantaged young adults from the Portsmouth area who had earned their place aboard. Skippered by a team of two qualified adults (including Priddy himself for much of the trip) the yacht completed the journey in a series of legs before returning home in July 2008.
Since then, Lively Lady has been a floating exhibit at Port Solent Marina in Hampshire but in 2015 was moved to a local boatbuilding college for some much needed restoration. However, after the cabin and decks had been stripped away, the project stalled. The gutted and waterlogged hull was later moved to Hayling Island where a group of volunteers will attempt to put her back together again. Once restored to a 'better than original' condition she will be made ready for a possible third circumnavigation.
Speaking for West System International, David Johnson remarked, "We have donated a substantial quantity of PRO-SET®ADV-170/ADV-270 epoxy adhesive to help completely rebuild her decks and will be providing ongoing technical support as the project proceeds. In many ways, WEST SYSTEM products and Lively Lady are pioneers from the same era, so it is great for us to be able to help her out as she is bought back from what is a very sorry state."
Epoxycraft will keep you regularly updated on all aspects of the restoration, particularly the technical tips involved in using epoxy products on 70-year-old timbers.
For more information, or if you would like to help the project in any way, contact Sheena Mitchell at