Marine | Boatyard

Ahoy! from the Boatyard

WORDS: DEAN BURRELL

irstly, let me start by saying a huge thank you to Matt Curthoys and Connie Chan for all their efforts in keeping the Boatyard operational over the last six months. The Boatyard Team has worked tirelessly and professionally to meet members’ expectations and for that I am very thankful.

My name is Dean Burrell I have been appointed as the new Boatyard Manager. My wife and I arrived in Hong Kong on 9 December along with our 13-year-old son, from a place called Norfolk Island which is situated half-way between Australia and New Zealand. I would like to thank Club Management for their kindness and support. Their assistance in making our time, and Christmas in Hotel Quarantine bearable, and providing a smooth integration into the Club is greatly appreciated.

I have been involved in the marine industry for more than 30 years. I have a boat building and engineering background, which has allowed me to work in variety of roles and countries including the Mainland of China, USA, and New Zealand. I was GM of a boat building business in New Zealand that had two slipways and a large hard stand and repair facility. The business continues to build Elliott 43.5 feet custom sail boats in conjunction with the designer and is the Bay of Plenty’s largest refit and repair facility. I hope to use my experience to grow customer confidence and relations with the Boatyard through my hands-on approach and am happy to pass on any knowledge to my team and Club members alike.

The Boatyard has been very busy over the past few months. That trend continues with several members’ new vessels arriving in Hong Kong. The Boatyard is offering antifoul packages that have been very successful in the past, and members typically have an accompanying list of repairs to keep our engineers, painters, and fiberglassers busy.

I look forward to meeting members and working with you into the future.