Posted by Woll (on behalf of Magnus) on October 28, 2010 at 06:06:50 user Woll.
You might possibly recall a very minor TarBoard discussion back in March/April of this year, about the 'Swallow' dinghy from the 1974 film of S&A. If you're interested in the project's prog
ress I can report that the boatbuilders have slowly rehydrated the timbers, repaired the cracked areas, and are nearly finished on the varnishing. There are some photos on the Sail Ransome website showing how great she looks!
Now we have a watertight boat we can begin to make plans for her tour. First off, there's a chance she might be on show at the Bristol Old Vic theatre during December 2010, as they have a S&A musical running and that ties in nicely for both parties. The first definite event in Swallow's calendar is the London Boat Show: 8th-16th January 2011 at the Excel centre. She will be on display at the Classic Boat stand, and we'll use this event as a media launch (no sailing as we are indoors). Tickets are free for under 16s if you're with a paying adult, so this might be a good chance for those in the south of England to examine Swallow.
For those in the north, we are planning a big launch event in the Lake District where we will sail Swallow for the first time. To get a good chance of suitable weather for an outdoor event, and so
me safe sailing, we're looking at the Easter school holidays to run this event. Probably one of the following dates - 9/10/16/17th April 2011. It is a shame to wait so long, but the winter time is
not great for such an event! We will let you know when we've found a suitable venue...
For those in the middle, perhaps we might see you at the TARS IAGM in Hay-on-Wye (there is talk of sailing on Lake Llangorse). But Swallow will be touring the country all through 2011, visiting various boat shows, TARS / Old Gaffers / Nancy Blackett Trust events, and (most importantly) there will be 'private' sailing days where even non-sailors can book an afternoon on Swallow in an area not too far from them.
These are grand plans I know, subject to change as we struggle through the legal requirements imposed upon us, but we'll do our best to get as many people aboard as we can. This project was always about sharing Swallow.
Finally, I must make an appeal for assistance. I know so many of you have helped the project financially already, but I do need to ask whether anyone can spare any time? Volunteers to help at the London Boat Show would be most useful. Experienced sailors are in demand for the country-wide network of skippers. Also, Rob Boden and I would like to find another committee member to run the project with us! Peter Willis is very busy as NBT chairman, so there are just two of us at present. I will have conquered all the red tape soon, so you can join us and make a real difference doing something interesting, not just battle with paperwork!
Thank you for reading all that, and for your support. Now for the commercial break...
The following companies have helped the project greatly:
Patterson Boatworks are excellent boat builders/repairers - www.pattersonboatworks.co.uk
International Marine make yacht paints and varnishes - www.international-marine.com
Goacher Sails make traditional and modern racing sails - www.goachersails.co.uk
Sail Sport are an online chandlery with sensible delivery prices - www.sail-sport.com