Company Information

Trafalgar Yacht Service was started in 1994 as a yacht brokerage by David Hardy in an office in the former grain warehouse by Lower Quay in Fareham. When the chandlery in the same building came up for sale in 1995 he was joined by his wife Caroline and they started specialising in parts for Westerly yachts. The company name was chosen based on his former Westerly colleague’s company in Plymouth called Armada Yacht Services

David's Background
At the age of 11 he approached the boatman of Portchester Sailing Club saying that he wanted to learn to sail. His request was brought to the attention of Commander Bill Hammond, the founder of the club, who lent him his Portchester Duck for the summer holidays, at the end of which David came third in the Club Regatta. That was the start of many years of racing, progressing in dinghies to the Finn class and competing for a place in the 1968 Olympic Team. In the meantime, at the age of 15 he joined the RAF as an aircraft engineering apprentice. He competed in their sailing team until he left in 1971. After ten more years of working on aeroplanes, combined with offshore racing, he was invited to join the National Sailing Centre at Cowes as an offshore instructor, despite no sailing qualifications whatsoever! In 1982 he joined Westerly as a 3-day-a -week demonstrator, but was so successful at selling that they made him a full-time salesman. He left in 1988 when a customer asked if he would run his Caribbean yacht charter business whose fleet would include 4 Westerly Oceanmasters and two Oceanlords. This business went well until the recession of the early 90s then, following a year of yacht deliveries, he started Trafalgar Yacht Services.

Speak to David who has sold new and used Westerlys since 1982 and has sailed nearly every model extensively. There is nobody who has such comprehensive and practical experience of the Westerly range.

Caroline's Background
Caroline grew up in Edinburgh and graduated from Edinburgh University with a BSc in Physics. Rather than following a scientific career, she joined the WRNS on an 8-year short service commission and took advantage of the many sailing opportunities that the Services offer. At the end of that time, and after 3 years in London, she moved back to the Portsmouth area and wrote to Westerly Yachts at Waterlooville about employment. It was well-timed, because the long-serving Commercial Manager, Doreen Barnes, was about to retire and Caroline got the job, which was renamed Contracts Manager. In 1990 she moved over to run the After Sales department which included the well-known Tony Hillier of the Spares section. However, things at Westerly were already difficult, and in 1991 the company went into receivership, resulting in the redundancy of nearly entire workforce. Before long she got a job with Opal Marine at Gosport and had a year’s experience and training as a yacht broker. She then did a couple of more lucrative but boring jobs until 1995 when she joined David in running Trafalgar Yacht Services, now expanded into the chandlery business.

Or speak to Caroline Hardy who was once Contracts Manager at Westerly, who shares the running of the business and handles all the Westerly spares enquiries. As custodian of the remains of Westerly's original documentation she may be able to assist with VAT evidence.