Hello to the world of Topsail. I am very excited to be here and to start a new chapter in my life. A big thank you to Lydia for this opportunity and all the help she has given me so far (and I hope will continue to do so in the near future).
I was born in St Olaves, where my family ran Johnson’s Yacht Station until the late 80’s. I have sailed on the Broads (and beyond) all of my life from crewing my father in Norfolk 10 (Elver) at The Norwich Frostbites at the age of 8, lasers at WOBYC in my teens and early 20’s, various river cruisers on The Broads, Flying Fifteens, Squibs and Dragons offshore at Lowestoft and Brown Boat 39 (Water Rail) with my wife, Gill and Children (grown up), Billy and Scarlett. The Broads and Boating is very much in my blood.
I will continue to add important news on the blog, here on the website, but for daily updates regarding listings and what Topsail is generally up to please visit our Facebook (Topsail Marine Yacht Brokers) and Instagram (topsail_brokers) pages
Please note email address stays as info@topsail.co.uk but the business mobile number has changed to 07909 337651
I am very pleased to be able to introduce you to Rob Johnson, who will be taking over the running of Topsail Marine Yacht Brokers from 1st October.
Rob is a keen Broads sailor and a familiar sight on the water in his own boat, BOD #39. He is also Norfolk born and bred and a local to the Broads area, so Topsail will be remaining very much in the hands of someone who knows and loves the Broads and the boating community that it serves.
Having spent some time getting to know Rob and talking through the business with him, I am confident that I am leaving Topsail in capable hands. I believe he has the enthusiasm, knowledge and commitment to take the business forward and I very much hope you will give him the same welcome and support that you have given me.
As I hand over the helm, I also want to take the opportunity to say a very sincere thank you to all of our customers.
It has been a genuine privilege to run Topsail Marine Yacht Brokers. Over the years I have had the pleasure of meeting so many wonderful people and helping you buy and sell boats that, in many cases, have been a very important part of your lives. I have appreciated every conversation, recommendation, boat sale and friendship along the way.
I would also like to acknowledge Danny, who has been part of the Topsail story throughout this chapter. While I have been the day-to-day face of the business, his support as my business partner has been an important part of the journey.
Topsail has been a huge part of my life, and while I am naturally sad to be stepping away, I am also very pleased that the business will continue rather than coming to an end.
From 1st October, Rob will be taking over the day-to-day running of Topsail and will be your point of contact going forward. I wish him every success and, most importantly, I hope he enjoys his time at the helm as much as I have.
Thank you all for your support, your trust and your custom over the years. It has meant a great deal to me.
I’m very pleased to be able to share a positive update following my recent announcement about the future of Topsail Marine Yacht Brokers.
After announcing that I will be stepping away from Topsail at the end of the season, I was heartened to see the level of interest in the business and the kind words offered by a large number of people.
I have taken some time to consider the interest shown in the business, and have now found someone who I believe is a great fit to take Topsail forward. We have agreed to start the process of transferring the business, and I’m really pleased that there is now a route for Topsail to continue beyond my time at the helm.
There are still a number of things to work through before everything is finalised, so I don’t want to get ahead of ourselves just yet. I will introduce the new owner properly in due course, once the process is further along.
For the time being, it remains business as usual for existing customers. I will continue to manage the current sales and support customers through the remainder of my time with Topsail, while working behind the scenes to make the transition as smooth as possible.
I’m genuinely excited that the business has the opportunity to continue and look forward to introducing you to them shortly.
Thank you, as always, for your continued support of Topsail Marine Yacht Brokers, it means a lot.
After a great deal of thought, we have made the difficult decision that Topsail Marine Yacht Brokers will be closing unless a buyer is found to take the business forward.
This decision has not been made lightly. It is the result of a change in personal priorities rather than any lack of passion for the business or the people involved in it. The time feels right to look towards the next chapter and take the wonderful experiences and wide range of skills I have gained from running Topsail into a new role and working environment.
Over the past few years, it has been a genuine privilege to be at the helm of Topsail Marine. I (Lydia) have had the opportunity to meet so many wonderful boat owners, help people buy and sell much-loved boats, and become part of a fantastic sailing community. Thank you to everyone who has trusted me to handle the sale or purchase of their boat, recommended the business to others, or simply stopped by for a chat. Your support has meant a great deal.
The business will not be closing immediately. I intend to continue operating until the end of the current boating season to ensure that existing customers continue to receive the level of service they expect.
The winding-down process will begin by no longer accepting new brokerage listings. Existing sales will continue to be managed through to completion wherever possible.
Should the business close (if a buyer is not found) it is the current plan to keep the website online for the immediate future. Over the years it has grown into a useful archive of boat information, photographs and sold listings, and I have come to understand it is a valuable resource for owners and enthusiasts alike.
Before all that happens, however, I would very much like to see if someone else could continue what has been built.
If you have ever considered running a small marine brokerage, or know someone who might be interested, I would be delighted to hear from you. The business would be particularly well suited to someone looking for an additional income stream who has the time to develop it, enjoys sailing, and likes working with people. It has an established website, a recognised name, and a loyal customer base, providing a solid foundation for someone who wants to take it forward.
If that sounds like something you would like to discuss, please get in touch with the company for a confidential conversation.
Finally, thank you once again to everyone who has supported Topsail Marine Yacht Brokers. It has been an incredibly rewarding chapter of my life, and although I am sad to see it come to an end, I look back on it with immense gratitude and many happy memories.
Whether you’re buying a boat, selling a boat, or simply browsing the lovely pictures to feed a day dream, you are all appreciated Topsail followers to us.
Whatever your reason for being here, we’d love to hear what you’d like to get from your new Topsail experience.Is it a blog that you want? Perhaps a chat forum? If it’s classic yachts you like, then what about more Bluewater classics? Is it The Norfolk Broads that interests you, so local-area information and a list of services might be appreciated?
How can we help you more easily find the boat that you are looking for, sell the boat that you have or just become a site that you visit more often?
Contact Us and let us know your thoughts and requests and we’ll see what we can do.
This was our attempt of “How to launch a boat on a wooden slipway” that we filmed a back in 2021.
Disclaimer: The contents of this blog post are the personal opinions of the author and the YouTube channel DN Boating. They do not reflect the opinions or advice from Topsail Marine Yacht Brokers. They are simply shared here in the hope that they are of interest or of use to the Topsail community.
Please do Contact Us if you have ideas for the blog or aricles that you would like us to publish.
What an amazing day we had out on the river, seeing old faces, meeting new ones and SAILLLIIINNGGG!
Thanks to our crew members Dean (The Wherry Yacht Charter boat builder), Toby (Yachtmaster), Jamie (Competitive edge), Danny (Topsail Skipper)
Claire and the crew flying down the Bure.
Even if you’ve seen the results what you may not know is that we did successfully complete the course!!!!!!! Would you believe that we were 90 seconds over the time limit! A 24-hour race – 90 seconds! This unfortunately is simply recorded as out-of-time 🙁
The team sailed exceptionally well though and we had a great time.
To attribute a reason to us not doing better, it’s simply that we were overly optimistic on our route, with Claire having proven herself so capable. There was a safe route that utilised the tide properly and for us this would have been: Horning, South Walsham, Stokesby, Hickling and then Ludham on the way home. When we looked at the wind forecast and our huge handicap, we entertained the idea of working with the wind but against the tide. By going, Horning, Hickling, Stokesby, South Walsham, Ludham we would fight the tide down at Stokesby but be able to overcome it because of the strong forecast wind, then ride the tide back – an entire tide earlier than in the previous ‘safer’ option!
When our huge handicap was applied, we might then be in for a respectable result, not just a completion. To test this risky proposal, Toby, Jamie, Thomas (Dean stand-in) and I tested Horning to Hickling, down to Stokesby and then back to South Walsham, timing the practice to use the same tidal conditions with what we thought would be the same wind conditions and we absolutely smashed it (apart from a failed bridge shoot up-wind at Potter thanks primarily to tourist river traffic). This gave us the confidence to try.
So what happened? You might notice that I’m saying ‘Stokesby’ which is where we knew the marker to be from our 2021 attempt. This year the race committee moved it quite a bit further down to The Stracey Arms, which means more distance to travel against the tide. Additionally, the forecast changed and the wind was due to drop off around that time. Foolishly we didn’t update our plan, so unsurprisingly we got stuck against the tide down near The Stracey Arms. We therefore had to mud weight and sit for a few hours. The second the wind picked up, we were back against it. So much so that Dean and Jamie were trying a good hour before it became possible. Toby, our most experienced helmsman got a few hours in, he doesn’t do well without sleep. Initially I carried on with Dean and Jamie until it really really had to be mud-weight down. Very magnanimously, Dean suggested that I lay my head for a little while as he believed that Toby and I needed to be on our ‘A-game’.
What an event. What an effort. What a capable boat, overtaking people with much greater sail area on the way out and even a little nifty Rebel couldn’t out-pace us on the way home ( OK, these guys weren’t actually in the race), catching up with people that had left a lot earlier).
We loved it all. 90 seconds though. Only 90 seconds over the time limit. NINETY SECONDSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thank you for the support you gave us out on the River. It was excellent seeing and hearing you, especially at the Potter Heigham bridge – a stretch that we found insanely difficult. That being said, on both of our previous practice attempts, we had failed – so at least we succeeded there on race day!
See you out on the water soon…
P.S Please be assured that whilst we ate a hot meal around an actual table – I was holding a perfect goose-wing and there was very little that anybody else could actually do. These are just some of the joys of sailing a classic Broads river cruiser.
