Vale - Andrew Neeson

It’s the smile, the dry sense of humour, gentle nature, steady yet calmness in most situations that Andrew will be fondly remembered for by all those who knew him. Andrew died suddenly on Sunday 14th January 2024.

 

 

Andrew started sailing in his early years, learning to sail with his father on a Herron. He then progressed to an Arrow where he met his wife Marg, then Mosquitos before moving over to keelboats. He first crewed with Marg on Wild Child and tried several other boats to develop his ocean sailing skills before becoming a regular on Jamhu and finally to Jaffa a Runnalls 39 now based out of Royal Brighton Yacht Club.

 

Over the past 5 years, as skipper of Jaffa is where Andrew set his mark, looking to build a crew, develop their skills, and be that mentor. It was finding the right mix of personalities that Andrew strove for, knowing that if you had the right people with some skills, he could build a team and develop the skillsets required for sailing later.

 

Jaffa, with Andrew as the skipper, campaigned hard for the past 2 seasons, training in difficult conditions and entering all the ORCV offshore races with results improving as the campaign evolved.

 

Only last week his face lit up with an unforgettable smile as he reflected on the recent 2023 Melbourne to Hobart race saying, “The race was a little challenging but nothing we hadn’t trained for but the cruise home with the crew was so much fun.”

 

The dad jokes, warm quiet personality of such a beautiful human will be so sadly missed by all.

 

Our thoughts go out to Andrew’s family, his wife Marg, James & Sophie and Caroline plus to his sailing “family” the crew of Jaffa.

 

Andrew’s family invites you to attend his Celebration of Life held at RBYC on Wednesday 24th January 2024 at 3pm. They have requested you wear brightly coloured clothing or shirts that connect you to the years of sailing with Andrew.