It was, in several ways, a historic occasion: for the first time ever, three of Arthur Ransome’s boats sailed together on the River Orwell: Nancy Blackett, Peter Duck and Ragged Robin III set off from Woolverstone last Sunday, 6th July, and cruised in company the river to Levington, where they rafted up together for lunch, before sailing back again.

The date was significant: it was twenty years ago that this river saw what became known as ‘the Great Race’ between Nancy Blackett, then privately owned but borrowed for the occasion by the Arthur Ransome Society’s Eastern Region, and Peter Duck, then owned by Greg and Ann Palmer (Peter Duck won). For Peter Willis, that was the first time he saw Nancy Blackett, and it had an incredibly emotional impact on him. He subsequently founded the Nancy Blackett Trust to buy and preserve the boat.

Last Saturday, at the Trust’s Annual General Meeting, he was elected its first President, after 17 years as its chairman, and this cruise was his first trip on Nancy in that capacity (not that this made much impression on the rest of the crew – apart from the skipper being chided for addressing him as a sea-dog: “Show a bit of respect – that should be Mr Sea-Dog,” he was told).

A Parade of Sail – from left to right: Ragged Robin III, Nancy Blackett, Peter Duck. Photo: John Payne.

Nancy Blackett’s skipper was Phil Durnford, with mate Bob Page and guests Julie Doughty and, from Somerset, Barley Turner and Chris Seal. Peter Duck was skippered by her owner Julia Jones, with John Benford, Judy Taylor and Terry and John Payne. Ragged Robin III, known as Lottie Blossom when Ransome owned her, was under the command of her present owners Ted and Diana Evans. Bryan Davies was in attendance with his own yacht Goldfinch, and the various crews were provisioned with homemade cake by Judy Taylor (as a homage to Arthur Ransome).

This time it wasn’t a race, which was just as well as there was no wind to begin with; just a drizzly drift downriver with the tide. After lunch, the skies cleared and there was enough wind for a brisk sail back up to Woolverstone. Julia Jones said “Nancy sailed beautifully.”

Nancy Blackett would like to thank Peter Duck and Ragged Robin for joining her on her special day.

– Words mostly by Peter Willis, and occasionally by Julia Jones