The good news is that, if the ‘Roadmap’ goes according to plan, Nancy Blackett will be able to provide her usual summer sailing… eventually.

Meanwhile, though, pandemic-related restrictions on the winter work mean that Nancy’s relaunch date – and our celebrations of her 90th Birthday – are put back by a month from the usual date to the end of April.

Over the winter the team at Robertson’s Boatyard have carried out a full schedule of repair, replacement and maintenance jobs, including attention to persistent fuel leaks and the installation of a new switch panel. However, ‘lockdown’ rules have meant that, while Nancy Blackett is inside the shed, our volunteer crew of Trust members have not been allowed access to her. They have a to-do list of over 30 items and usually many of these are attended to working inside the shed alongside Robertson’s own staff.

Nancy Blackett at Robertsons. Photo: NBT Archive.

Stage One of the ‘Roadmap,’ which came into force on March 29th, means that groups of up to six people, working out-doors and socially-distanced, will be able to carry out jobs on Nancy, including the all-important antifouling, once she is moved out of the shed – planned to take place in the week after Easter.

Nancy Blackett at Robertsons. Photo: NBT Archive.

The relaunch seems the most appropriate time to celebrate the fact that Nancy Blackett has reached the remarkable age of 90. She was launched in 1931, at David Hillyard’s yard in Littlehampton, though we’ve no idea when. Normally we mark her birthday in March 30th, the issue date of her Certificate of British Registry, but this year, it doesn’t seem right that such a significant milestone should be passed with her stuck inside a shed.

So plans are being laid for a suitable celebration. It will have to be modest as far as in-person attendance is concerned, but we hope to video it, or even Zoom it. More details, including the exact date, are to be announced. Sailing will be allowed by then, subject to certain restrictions, and from June 21st, if all goes according to plan, the final legal restrictions will be lifted, and members will be able to book sailing trips on Nancy Blackett.

In the meantime you can catch up with Nancy Blackett’s first 90 years through our potted history and timeline, before reading her definitive history in the book Good Little Ship: Arthur Ransome, Nancy Blackett and the Goblin. 

Written by the Trust’s President, Peter Willis, it is available from the Nancy Blackett Shop, which supports the work of the Nancy Blackett Trust.