Join Arthur Ransome’s Nancy Blackett at the Harwich Sea Festival

Arthur Ransome’s Nancy Blackett will be open to visitors during the Harwich Sea Festival and Lifeboat Day on Saturday 29th July.

Joining her for a day of nautical attractions and live entertainment are the sailing barges Victor and Centaur and the Essex smack Pioneer.

Nancy Blackett was bought by Arthur Ransome in 1935 and used as the model for the Goblin in his book “We Didn’t Mean to Go to Sea”, based around Pin Mill and the River Orwell. The sequel “Secret Water” was set in the Walton Backwaters.

She was discovered derelict in Scarborough Harbour in the 1980’s, brought back to the River Orwell to be restored to her original condition, and is now owned and sailed by the Nancy Blackett Trust.

The Harwich Sea Festival is a fundraising event for local charities and organisations in the Harwich and Dovercourt area, organised by the RNLI and the Harwich and Dovercourt Rotary Club.

The Festival includes gig races and lifeboat demonstrations, as well as live entertainment and over forty stalls, and takes place on Sunday 29th July at Harwich Quay, a short walk from Harwich Railway Station and car parking on Harwich Green.

For more details please see the Harwich Sea Festival website.