A celebration of Arthur Ransome’s Norfolk Broads stories and boats was held at the Norfolk Broads Yacht Club’s Open Day over a glorious May Day Bank Holiday weekend, as Sophie Neville reports…

Sophie Neville with the yacht ‘Goldfish’ sailing on Wroxham Broad.

For the May Day Bank Holiday weekend, I travelled up to Wroxham with my camera and memory stick for the Norfolk Broads Yacht Club’s Open Day. They were celebrating life on the Broads in the 1930s, along with the books by Arthur Ransome that are set in East Anglia.

The Norfolk Broads Yacht Club. Photo: Sophie Neville.

We were blessed by such glorious weather that almost everybody seemed to be sailing when I arrived.

Everybody seemed to be sailing… Photo: Sophie Neville.

A number of vessels that appeared in the BBC TV adaptations of “Coot Club” and “The Big Six” entitled “Swallows and Amazons Forever!” were on display at the club, including Titmouse, the dinghy belonging to Tom Dudgeon in the story, that normally resides at Hunter’s Yard in Norfolk. She is no longer seaworthy.

Sophie Neville with Titmouse.

Tom’s punt, the Dreadnaught, was pulled up alongside an elegant Edwardian skiff called Joan B that was once set adrift at Horning by George Owden. She had been brought along by Pat Simpson, a member of the Norfolk Broads Yacht Club.

Dreadnaught and Joan B, Photo: Sophie Neville.

Pippa, a classic broads river-cruiser with dark sails belonging to Geoff and Rose Angell, was cast adrift at Horning in the dark of night. She came to no harm and was now out on the water, racing against a 1904 yacht with white sails, number 4, called Swallow.

Swallow and Pippa. Photo: Sophie Neville.

‘White Boats’ or ‘Yare and Bure one-designs’ originally brought out in 1908, were also racing as they have been since the Farland twins, Port and Starboard, crewed for their father in “Coot Club”. Ransome referred to a white boat called Grizzled Skipper, which belonged to Chris Shallcross, but no one could remember which of the 140-odd White Boats registered was used in the series. You can see a fleet of White Boats here racing at Horning, the Swan Inn in the background.

White Boats at Horning. Photo: Sophie Neville.

I spotted ‘Brown Boats’, a Broads’ one-design with a distinctive counter stern and spoon bow, which would also have been seen racing in the 1930s. They were first built in 1907 and although some were lost during the war there are still 88 in existence, although some now have fibre glass hulls. Number 61, called Hanser, is owned by Danny Tyrrell.

Hanser. Photo: Sophie Neville.

Lullaby, which played the Teasel in the series, was up at Horsey Mere with others from her fleet, but we had her costume on display. It is a varnished transom painted with the name Teasel. Janca, the motorboat which played the infamous Margoletta, hired by the Hullabaloos, was unable to come as she is currently being renovated, but Water Rail, a Herbert Woods Delight Class B 1930s cruiser belonging to Liz Goodyear was safely moored alongside other classic boats. She appeared in the background of several scenes in the television drama.

Water Rail. Photo: Sophie Neville.

I then spotted a distinctive burgee that took me back thirty-five years:

The Bird Preservation Society Burgee. Photo: Sophie Neville.

‘BPS’ being short for the Bird Preservation Society – it was the flag belonging to the Death and Glory, flying next to ‘the little old chimney’ made from a galvanised bucket.

Sophie Neville with Death and Glory.

Originally a German lifeboat washed up on the beach at Southwold, she had been bought for the series by Pat Simpson of Stalham Yacht Services, who found her moored at Snape in Suffolk.

Origins as a German lifeboat. Photo: Sophie Neville.

Pat kept her for his sons to take out on the Norfolk Broads and it has been operated by children as Death and Glory, ever since.

The Death and Glory. Photo: Sophie Neville.

It must have taken a bit of work to make her sea-worthy but tarred and fitted-out correctly, she closely resembles Arthur Ransome’s illustrations, the homemade cabin mysteriously larger inside than out.

Thoroughly tarred. Photo: Sophie Neville.

I was asked to sign a copy of “The Big Six” bought along by Professor John Farrington from Aberdeen, who acquired the Death and Glory for his own children in 1989.

He told me: ‘I took them to the boatyard and suggested they climbed aboard. “Get on!” ‘They were aged ten and eleven.’

‘”But what about the owners?” they asked.’

“You are the owners,” I told them.’ He had just bought it for them as an unexpected present. ‘Before long they rowed it from Stalham to Sutton and back.’

Sophie Neville signing books.

This year is the 80th Anniversary of The Norfolk Broads Yacht Club, which is why they have a 1930’s theme running through their calendar. The day proved a true celebration of traditional boats that would have been seen back then.

A celebration of…

IMG_6920

…traditional boats. Photos: Sophie Neville.

I had been asked to give a talk about filming the series, but that will be another story. The re-mastered DVD, for which I wrote the DVD extras, is available on Amazon here.

A new DVD of ‘Coot Club and The Big Six’.

You can read more about how these boats were used in the series here and on the Norfolk Broads Yacht Club website.

If you have any additional information about these boats or want to ask questions about making the book adaptions, then please add your comments here.

Water Rail moored on Wroxham Broad. Photo: Richard Hattersley.

Originally published by Sophie Neville in May 2018.