For more than a little while I have been trying to encourage our members in Northern Ireland to meet up for a drive together.  Some interesting email exchanges have taken place resulting in the nick name “The Barchetta Protocol”   being adopted.  You can imagine how delighted I am that a very successful meeting has now taken place.  Well done, especially to Elwen for her video account of the event.  

I have similarly tried to encourage our Scottish members to meet up.  We have got as far as a group name, “The McBarchettas” but no meeting yet.  I am hoping that The Barchetta Protocol will inspire our dozen members north of the border to follow suit.  Here is Steve Skelly’s report.

Martin Garrad

The Barchetta Protocol’s Inaugural Meeting

At the end of August this year we finally managed to arrange a NI Barchetta outing on a beautiful sunny Saturday.  My wife Carol and I met with Ed and Elwin Watters and Trevor and Alison Magee at Six Roads End and shared a glass of bucks fizz to celebrate our meeting.  (Please note the best car award upon the winning car of 2023!)

We headed off on the Mourne Coastal route passing through Carrowdore, Ballywalter, Ballyhalbert, Portavogie, Ringboy, Clogher and on to Portaferry where we took the ferry to Strangford. A pod of dolphins appeared alongside the ferry and were beautiful to watch.  From Strangford we headed to The Barn restaurant in Saul, Downpatrick for lunch and met up with two other Barchetta owners Michael and Jenny McDowell and Terry Elton.

We had a lovely lunch getting to know each other and sharing the joys of being a Barchetta owner.  We have to thank Ed and Elwin Watters for their brilliant video which captured beautifully our day out. We had such a good time and all agreed to arrange another outing soon. 

Steve and Carol Skelly