Nancy Blackett spent last weekend at YaNancy at YOGAFF 2010rmouth in the Isle of Wight for the annual Yarmouth Old Gaffers Festival (YOGAFF), having sailed and motored there from Hamble on the Thursday. Bob Hull (skipper), Jenny Wedick (mate) and Barry Johnson were joined in Yarmouth by Jan Lingley.

During Friday and Saturday Nancy welcomed more than 100 visitors, a mixture of Islanders, non-Islanders, “old gaffers”, friends of Nancy, Trust members and others. Her last visit to the Festival had been in 2001. The crew manned a stall on the Yarmouth Quayside directing visitors to the boat and selling a lot of NBT merchandise. New members were signed up, others promised to join and a few expressed interest in becoming skippers.

Nancy at YOGAFF 2010On the Saturday Nancy went out early to sail and the stood off the course following the annual Old Gaffers race, with more wind than most of the participants. Returning to Yarmouth, ahead of the gaffers, Nancy’s arrival was announced with great solemnity to the large watching crowd over the public address system. This was good PR for the Trust and the crew acted as worthy ambassadors at all the weekend’s social events.

– Bob Hull