Arthur Ransome's much-loved 'Nancy Blackett' is today making her way from Woolverstone marina to London for the Classic Boat Show after a summer of repairs.

Following repairs to a diesel leak in new engine on Saturday afternoon and a visit from the trustees president, Peter Willis, 'Nancy Blackett' left Woolverstone yesterday, under Skipper Ian McGlynn, with Bob Hull and Paula Holt crewing.

Nancy Blackett Woolverstone

Today she spent time mooring at Brightlingsea's Heritage Quay alongside three Colchester oyster smacks, a boat on the final stages of a round the UK trip, and a couple who had planned to sail in the south-west but who decided to drag their boat from Hereford to the sunny East Coast.

'Nancy Blackett' has been beset with set backs this summer after sinking immediately after her seasonal relaunch at the end of April, leading to a long period of repairs and refurbishment, which included installation of a new engine and extensive electrical rewiring.

The author Arthur Ransome, who wrote 'We Didn't Mean to Go to Sea' while living in Pin Mill, named the boat Nancy Blackett as her character in his books, including 'Swallows and Amazons' had here make his fortune.