The above picture was part of “The One Show” on BBC, 17th January 2011. Captain Nancy can be seen in the background. If she is, indeed, located at Woodbridge, then that is only a few miles from the Sealand fort which was the focus of the piece so the television crew might well have set off from there.
The following a comment made by the current owners
Judy and I bought Captain Nancy from John Burton in December of 2008 and keep her on a mooring just down river from Loders Cut on Deben . We have not been very far yet due to dreaded house moving.
The picture of Ben Fogle was recorded on Halfpenny Pier Harwich as I was there at the time
Mike Coleman
You may view the advertisement for her published around 2005
The following is a capture from a website of a previous owner of Captain Nancy
Captain Nancy at West Wick Marina, Essex
October 2003
After 31 years Ann and Peter have sold Captain Nancy. The new owners plan to sail her to the Mediterranean after a refit so we will have to look out for her. With her traditional lines and blue sails she is easy to recognize.
Captain Nancy is a 10 metre Barbary Ketch built at Poole in 1972 and commissioned by Peter and Ann Bernard who have sailed her for 28 years. She has cruised the South Coast, Holland, Belgium, France down to La Rochelle and North Western Spain.
She has previously been moored on The Hamble, Shamrock Quay, Carentan, Guernsey and Newhaven.
We have sailed her since 1986 on many foreign cruises with Peter and Ann as well as our own family and friends. Captain Nancy has always inspired confidence with her sturdy build and deep centre cockpit.
The name “Captain Nancy” was taken from Arthur Ransome’s book, “Swallows and Amazons”. Ruth Blackett, of the pirate ship “Amazon” could not be called Captain Ruth because pirates, of course, are “ruthless”. She therefore took the name Nancy. We have found a large number of sailors have read Arthur Ramsome’s books, many of them taking up the sport as a direct result. One of Ransome’s own boats was named Nancy Blackett and is now moored at Woolverstone Marina on the River Orwell. Devotees of Arthur Ramsome are regularly taken for sailing trips. Another of his boats, “Peter Duck”, can also be seen in the area.
June 2011 Capt Nancy sailed from the River Deben to the Helford River, Cornwall, in easy stages. The round trip taking four weeks in a mixture of gales and sunshine – quite nice really!
June 2012 Trip to The Roompot, Holland, for three weeks sailing the Dutch Meers. Very taken with Holland and its friendly people. The words “red diesel” were never mentioned!
Several other journeys have also been enjoyed with the Woodbridge Cruising Club.
I regret to say that Capt Nancy is now up for sale due to me having to downsize. Anyone interested may contact me on 01394 386771.