It is with great sadness that we say farewell to Dave Sully whose death at the age of 86 marks the passing of one of Boleh’s true heroes. He was a key player in Roger Angel’s earlier rescue and restoration of Boleh in the 1980’s and part of her history thereafter. His booklet, ‘Arising from the Ashes’, recording Roger’s restoration and their subsequent adventures on passage to the Mediterranean, is a cracking read and can be seen here
For the Boleh Team, struggling to restore Boleh over 20 years later, Dave was an inspiration, a huge and constant supporter, and a friend. Dave’s involvement with the Boleh Trust since its foundation in 2009 has been ‘hands on’, keeping us in touch with the Angel family, helping research past history, and contributing News articles for our website – most recently in April this year. It was fitting that Dave met HRH The Princess Royal last November (pictured}, receiving the recognition he so richly deserved for his service to Boleh.
Dave’s son-in-law, Geraint Williams, told us Dave’s funeral was low key as many contemporaries had pre-deceased him or were unable to attend. Technology, however, enabled the Service to be live streamed to friends and family across the globe; his own tribute can be seen by looking at Remembering Dave. In response to our condolences Geraint said: “Many thanks for the Trust’s kind words for Dave, he really cherished his association with the whole Boleh Project. Our visit last year for HRH’s commissioning of Boleh and meeting all those involved and seeing at first hand the hard work to keep the precious vessel afloat was a very special highlight for him”.
Farewell Dave, our thoughts are with your family. You helped save Boleh for future generations and we will not forget you.
