Nancy Blackett finally started her new sailing season last Saturday (April 29th) when she left the Tidemill Marina in Woodbridge at about 1.00pm, as soon as there was sufficient depth of water over its sill. Her new mast looked splendid, and performed excellently during the short cruise round to Shotley Marina on the Stour/Orwell junction. […]
To celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the Nancy Blackett Trust and Visit England’s Year of Literary Heroes, Pin Mill is hosting an Arthur Ransome Jamboree on Saturday 13th May. It’s part of a year-long celebration of Arthur Ransome’s links with the area, which will include a Parade of Sail headed by Nancy Blackett on 4th […]
It might be hard to be believe, but Arthur Ransome’s Nancy Blackett celebrated her 86th anniversary yesterday (30th March), receiving lots of birthday wishes on social media. Born in 1931 at Hillyards boatyard in Littlehampton, Sussex, she was first registered as a British Ship, under her original name Spindrift, on 30th March. Her actual launch date […]
Even though Nancy Blackett’s due to spend a couple of months in Holland this summer, that still leaves twenty weeks of the sailing season open for you to book a sail – half-day, full day, part-week, full week, whatever you like – for yourself, your partner, your children, or your parents, grandparents or friends. A […]
Progress continues on Nancy Blackett’s new mast. Making it began in January at specialist spar-makers Collars, while it is now at Robertsons and in the process of being prepared to drop into the hole on Nancy’s deck. The new mast, necessitated after two cracks and a visible distortion to the (very) old one, is slightly […]
Everyone should have the unique experience of sailing Arthur Ransome’s Nancy Blackett, especially around the locations where his Swallows and Amazons series stories “We Didn’t Mean to Go to Sea” and “Secret Water” were set. You can try a short taster session, stay overnight, or have an adventurous longer trip. It is also a lot […]
Peter Willis, founder and president of the Nancy Blackett Trust, reflects on its 20th anniversary and the year in prospect… This new year, 2017, will not only see the 20th anniversary of the Nancy Blackett Trust, but it will also be 80 years since the publication of “We Didn’t Mean to Go to Sea“, and […]
Visit England has declared 2017 the ‘Year of Literary Heroes’, highlighting anniversaries of great writers, including Arthur Ransome, who died 50 years ago in 1967 – and Suffolk’s Shotley Peninsula, which features in two of his books, and where his famous yacht Nancy Blackett is based, is joining in with gusto. Pin Mill, the peninsula’s […]
One of the most ubiquitous and widely recognised publications in south Suffolk is to feature our Nancy Blackett on the front of its 2017 edition. The Harwich Haven Authority’s Yachting Guide to Harwich Harbour and its rivers is widely distributed to yacht and sailing clubs, chandleries and all sorts of other places where sailors could […]
Skipper John Smith recounts the final sail of Nancy Blackett’s 2016 season. We had planned on a local area cruise before entering the River Deben, but, with several days of strong easterlies, we were left banking on a possible short break in the weather on the morning of the planned laying-up day, Saturday 15th October. […]
Nancy Blackett and three other vessels were recently involved in returning a 21ft yacht to a mooring after it was found drifting in mid-channel on the River Orwell near Levington. Nancy Blackett was returning from a passage to Brightlingsea and the crew was relaxing a little after a stormy night of wind and waves. Motoring […]
Nicola Farr and Richard Wainwright tell the story of this year’s August Cruise. During her recent August cruise, Nancy Blackett and crew visited Aldeburgh Yacht Club’s Lapwing ‘World Championship’ event. The Lapwing is a 12ft clinker dinghy, exclusive to the Aldeburgh Yacht Club, and built between the 1940s and 1960s. Following a great sail up […]
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