a bit more of an introduction

My friend Cindie has persuaded me that we should start this blog, although I do feel slightly uncomfortable writing about my life and experiences - why would anyone be interested?    We have been privileged to be part of Britannia's long history for 25 years. We are calling the blog Crew Britannia because she is not just a very special boat, but has brought us in contact with some wonderful people whom we would never have met if we hadn't had Britannia in our lives.  So this blog isn't just about boats, it's about people and life and love and loss.. and dogs.   You can stop reading now if you want!

Sam and I fell in love with Britannia  in 1973,  and bought her on a whim from a dentist in Lowestoft.  Having just sold our house in Somerset, we had cash burning a hole in our pocket, more than we had ever had.  We wanted to buy a boat to sail on and live aboard, and had been looking around for something suitable for a few months.  Ideally, we were searching for a wooden boat with character, about 40 foot long, and seaworthy so that we could sail away and have an adventure.  Britannia was advertised in Exchange and Mart, was within our price range, and although larger than we wanted, sounded interesting.  She was lying against a quay in Lowestoft docks, so we journeyed from Somerset to Suffolk, with our two German Shepherds squashed in the back, to take a look.  Had Sam managed to put the car in reverse a little quicker, we would never have bought her.  Superficially she looked like a wreck, - just a wooden hull, covered in tarpaulins with loads of “junk” on her deck.  She looked a total mess. But the owner, a New Zealand dentist, heard us arrive and popped his head through the hatch so we couldn't escape.  Down below there were no bulkheads and you could see all her beautiful grown oak frames from stem to stern.  It was love at first sight for Sam, and we had to have her.  The whole deal was completely impractical, -  she was a much larger vessel than we had anticipated buying, but we had no doubts and the deal was done.  

We then went off and bought a brand new long wheel base Landrover, which in 1973 cost us £1,800. That was most of our money gone... No-one at the time was driving four by fours, we were looked on as being rather peculiar.   I was 7 months pregnant at the time and Sam thought that a Landrover was the only safe vehicle to be driving. He was right I think, but ironically he didn't seem to think that living on a wreck of a boat in a dock might be slightly unsafe or unusual!  We looked a bit scruffy when we went to the showroom and asked to buy the vehicle that was in the window.. the salesman, looking down his nose a bit, asked how we were going to pay, and was a bit taken aback when we asked if cash was OK!

This blog will not be chronological, so bear with me.  Just memories as they occur, but the main objective now is to try to raise awareness and support to restore Britannia, again, second time around,  to her former glory, so that more people will have the opportunity of learning how to sail a traditional, historic Gaff rigged Cutter.

After we sold our beautiful boat in 1995, on which we had lived and brought up our sons, twenty years went by and then we heard that she had hit hard times again and was in need of care. So, we couldn't let her founder, - we got her back again, and have now set up a Charitable Trust to try to restore her and get her sailing again, the very best way to keep these old boats, on the sea where they belong.. 

We celebrated her 100th Birthday in Gweek last September, and photos will soon be posted on our Britannia Sailing Trust  Facebook page.

This is a model of Britannia which is now in Kings Lynn Museum.

So, keep reading if you want to, we will be sharing our own stories plus others who have been inspired by Britannia....