One summer, I grabbed the chance to sail Arthur Ransome’s favourite little ship, the Nancy Blackett.
If you recognise her, it might be because she was his model for the Goblin in ‘We Didn’t Mean To Go To Sea‘, possibly the most exciting and touching of the Swallows and Amazons series of books. I re-read it while we were in Dutch waters aboard the main character herself.
~ Beach End Buoy at the mouth of the River Orwell in Suffolk ~
In the story, the Swallows – John, Susan, Titty and Roger Walker – promise their mother that they will not go to sea, but disaster strikes when the Goblin slips her anchor in thick fog, while her owner is ashore, and gets swept out past the Beach End Buoy at Harwich. The wind rises and the children find themselves sailing across the North Sea in a terrific storm before a friendly Dutch pilot guides them into Flushing.
~ Nancy in the old lock at near the medieval port of Veere ~
I was able to join Nancy when she had already made the crossing to the Netherlands but did take her through an old lock built in the same style as the one the Swallows encountered, all be it at the other end of the Dutch canal. It was as if we had sailed into the pages of the book and lived out the adventure ourselves, learning about ropes and reefing each nautical mile.
Mooring up could be tricky, especially since Nancy is an old lady with a bow-sprit, but unlike Susan and Titty, I never felt sea-sick for a moment.
~ Learning how to hoist the mainsail ~
~ Sophie sailing in salt water ~
~ Keeping a look out for Dutch barges ~
Local author Veronica Frenks came out one morning, taking us up a creek to see the traditional Dutch barges and historic ships that she often writes about. She soon made plans to write about Arthur Ransome for Spiegel der Zeilvaart, a Dutch periodical. Here she is with me, at the helm:
To read about sailing Nancy on the River Orwell in Suffolk, where she is based. please click here.
To read about sailing Nancy on the Beaulieu River and the Solent, please click here
If you would like to grab a chance to sail Nancy or find out more about the Nancy Blackett Trust, please click here
Sophie Neville 
Reblogged this on Once Upon A Time Vintage! and commented:
The Age of Adventure Never Ends!
It was an adventure! What I didn’t add was that my train was delayed on the way home. A man was arrested for laying a bomb at the station I was about to pass through that Saturday morning.
Oh dear it’s terrible what is happening in the world isn’t it. I wish everyone just lived in peace. The world would be a happier place.
It was nice and peaceful in the Netherlands – so was rather a shock when the arrested the man for trying to lay a bomb on the train. Luckily it didn’t go off.
I love nice and peaceful 🙂 Sad to hear that you had to come back with a bomb scare. I would of been shocked too it’s not something you expect to happen after such a lovely time away.
I was a bit anxious. I had arranged to have lunch with Lesely Bennett who played Peggy Blackett in ‘Swallows & Amazons’ (1974) and didn’t want to be late!
Maritime regulations state side light boxes must be painted black internally, not red and green, says me who became cadet to captain after reading AR books 🙂
I’ll tell the Chairman! I can only imagine they are a period feature. Have the regulations changed in the last 85 years since Nancy was deisgned?
At the moment I am watching the Nancy Blackett on BBC Four with David Dimbleby.
Sidelight boxes should be painted black internally, not red and green. Says me who became cadet to captain, due to reading AR books. I did ‘mean to sea’ from an early age.
Great photos Sophie catching the spirit of our adventure
What a fabulous voyage, and a fantastic adventure, by the look of it. I love The Netherlands and the Dutch people; very friendly, I’ve always found.
It was amazing. I only hope we can return sometime soon.