It’s time for last orders for your Christmas gifts from the Nancy Blackett Shop! Choose from our fabulous range of “Swallows and Amazons” and Nancy Blackett gifts, knowing that your purchases will go to a very good cause – keeping Nancy Blackett afloat and available for everyone! Please order your Christmas gifts by Thursday 11th December for delivery within the UK. Any other […]
The Nancy Blackett Trust was busy meeting sailors at the RYA East’s Cruising Conference last Sunday. Shown below are Phil Durnford, chair of the Trust’s Sailing Committee, far left, and Robin Sadler, newly-elected Trust Chairman, centre. The third member of our team, Sailing Secretary Mark Taylor, was away from our stand, delivering a breakout talk […]
Nancy Blackett’s Christmas shopping countdown continues with our updated handy guide to our recommended last dates for ordering your Christmas gifts from the Nancy Blackett Shop. Orders for delivery outside the UK need to be placed your orders within the next week, while UK orders still have four weeks to go. Our featured Festive Offer this […]
Nancy Blackett played a proud role in this year’s East Anglian Sailing Trust (EAST) Visually-Impaired Cruise Weekend, which brought together seven yachts, 29 participants, and seven VIPs (visually-impaired participants) for a memorable few days on the water. Ahead of the main event, Nancy Blackett hosted a short preparatory sail for four EAST members. The 2.5-hour […]
Claudia Myatt’s classic illustration of Nancy Blackett returns on this sturdy 10oz ceramic mug, delivered in its own robust cardboard box, ready for gift-wrapping or onward postage. Priced at £10.99, this is a charming addition to your collection or a perfect gift for any fan of Arthur Ransome’s Swallows and Amazons, with every purchase helping […]
Despite a delayed season start due to necessary restoration work, and the cancellation of various planned voyages due to early autumn storms, 2025 proved a successful year for Nancy Blackett, writes Mark Taylor… May and June were mostly dedicated to our annual volunteer crew inductions and training sessions. We were fortunate with the weather, enabling […]
Pin Mill Sailing Club’s Laying-up Supper on Saturday 18th October was a doubly special occasion: it marked 90 years since the club was founded, and Arthur Ransome (one of its first members) arrived with his newly-acquired yacht Nancy Blackett. Nancy Blackett Trust President Peter Willis presented the club with a memento consisting of Nancy’s cabin […]
We all know that Arthur Ransome was complaining of ‘having run out of ideas’ and ‘not knowing where the next book was coming from’ when he was in the process of moving from Low Ludderburn in the Lake District down to Suffolk in order to enjoy some ‘sea-sailing’ again. And it’s true that the purchase […]
To mark the first Nancy Blackett Day, the 90th anniversary of Arthur Ransome’s purchase of Nancy Blackett, the Nancy Blackett Trust’s President Peter Willis and Chairman Robin Sadler were interviewed live on Radio Suffolk from onboard Nancy Blackett at Woolverstone Marina. Topic ranged from Nancy Blackett’s origins and restoration to people’s experiences of sailing her […]
Although Nancy Blackett is a bit older than 90, she wasn’t always known by that name – and it was on this day 90 years ago that Arthur Ransome was introduced to this Hillyard 7-tonner which he would describe as his “best little boat”. He changed her name and ended up immortalising her in what […]
It’s fairly well-known that Nancy Blackett was launched in 1931 – but she wasn’t called Nancy Blackett then. She was built at David Hillyard’s yard in Littlehampton to one of his standard designs, as a ‘seven-ton’ 28ft 6in yacht for Seymour Tuely, a Wimbledon solicitor, who called her Spindrift – we even had an embroidered […]
John Sergeant, respected news broadcaster and President of the Arthur Ransome Society, recently enjoyed a sail on Ransome’s own Nancy Blackett, now restored and sailing on the River Orwell. He described it as “an unforgettable experience”, and was delighted to helm her on a passage which, accompanied by NBT President Peter Wills, Chairman-elect Robin Sadler […]
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