The Nancy Blackett book that started it all is Roger Wardale’s Nancy Blackett: Under Sail with Arthur Ransome, and you now the chance to buy one of two rare copies of it. Published in 1991, it not only celebrates Mike Rines’ restoration of Nancy Blackett, but covers her history and that of every other boat […]
Grab some book bargains in our January Sale and help support Nancy Blackett! We’ve been busy sorting out our stockroom and have unearthed previous-edition copies of some of Arthur Ransome’s classic titles – which are now available here in our Shop at bargain prices: Winter Holiday – ideal seasonal reading! Also available are: Swallowdale, Peter […]
A Christmas message from the Nancy Blackett Trust… We wish a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all of our supporters, members, friends and followers. Thank you for the support that you have given once again this year, be it sailing with us, coming to visit Nancy Blackett somewhere, volunteering your valuable time, […]
Congratulations to “our” boatyard, Harry King & Sons, celebrating 175 years in business this year (2025) and still upholding the skills and standards of traditional boatbuilding, nowadays under the management of Gus and Sarah Curtis – and nowadays the winter home of Nancy Blackett. The yard was actually founded in 1850 by George Garrard. Harry […]
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 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 […]
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 […]
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