A Celebration of Alan
22 Sep 2009
ALAN NEVILLE You will all now be aware of the fact that we have lost one of our best and longest serving members. Alan Neville joined the Sailing Club in the early 1970s after he moved to Ardentinny as a senior instructor at Strathclyde Councils Outdoor Centre there. He immediately became involved on the racing scene when dinghies were still popular(!) and from the start proved very hard to beat in his works Wayfarer Velvet Scoter borrowed from the Centre. Gradually with a succession of different crews, including Nigel Scriven, who is still an active member with us, Alan progressed through the ranks, winning several Scottish titles until, having persuaded his employers to upgrade the fleet he attended two World Championships abroad with his new boat Surf Scoter. He finished third in both of them, against high class opposition, narrowly missing overall victory in the second one in Canada in the last race. With his wife Val, a new house, and a growing family to nurture, Alan took a relative back seat on the racing scene for a while although he devoted an enormous amount of time running the cadet training scheme in the Club and coaching his sons to his own very high standards. This involved a considerable amount of time and travel and Alan became well known throughout the country at youth and dinghy racing events. With the family grown up and Val and Alans house at Strathlachlan as near refurbished as it was ever likely to get, Alan took early retirement and turned his attention back to racing and bought Sandpiper to join the burgeoning fleet of Pipers in the Holy Loch. From the outset Sandpiper was at or near the head of the fleet both in Club sailing and in open events and such was Alans unwavering enthusiasm that he very seldom ever missed a race. Throughout the 1990s and into the new millennium his reputation in Clyde sailing was irreproachable and, with his considerable professional skills in teaching and all manner of outdoor sporting pursuits, his advice was sought on many an occasion. And his advice was always willingly and freely given in a clear and concise way including any practical help that may be required. Even after he had given up the reigns of training officer to Neil Wilson Alan continued to help his fellow sailors in many ways and served several spells on the Club Committee. Having missed out on World Champion status thirty years ago in his Wayfarer, it was only fitting that he should achieve that honour in 2008 when, along the help of his sons, Guy and Ben, he won the Piper World Championship at Gourock to universal acclaim. With nothing else to prove to the racing fraternity, Alans enthusiasm for sailing and racing nevertheless remained undiminished and, even after he had been diagnosed with cancer in early June this year he continued to race undeterred and, if anything, he was harder to beat than ever! Alan sailed his last event on the weekend of 15/16th August, appropriately in defence of his world title of the Piper class and again with Ben and Guy in support. Despite appalling wind and weather conditions at this regatta which decimated the fleet, Team Neville sailed Sandpiper to victory with a perfect score of first places. Despite being very tired afterwards Alan wore his familiar smile of joy as he received his trophy again to heartfelt applause from his fellow sailors. Less than a fortnight later Alan was rushed to hospital by his loving wife, Val, and he died in the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley on 9th September. To affirm his familys words, Alan Neville will be sadly missed by all who new him, but joyfully remembered.