Help us raise money to pay for Severn's restoration and maintain her once she is back on the water
Severn is one of ten Rivers Class Yachts built for the Royal Mersey Yacht Club. Severn was brought by Arnside Sailing Club with the help of a Heritage Lottery Grant in 2018 to have an example of a Crossfield boat in the village. Crossfields were leading builders of Morecambe Bay Prawners, yachts and dinghies from 1840s to the 1940s including Arthur Ransome’s Swallow.
The Rivers Class were sailed by members of the Liverpool merchant elite, including Olympic medallists. Severn sunk in a race just days before the outbreak of the First World War. She was rediscovered on the bed of the Mersey in 1927, raised to the surface and sailed again. By the 1960s Severn was in North Wales. From 1972 to 2018 she was on the East Coast.
The restoration includes replacing all her internal framework, repairs to her keel and backbone, restoring the boat to her original 1912 appearance without a cabin, recaulking the hull and fitting a new engine. We hope to have her back on the water at Arnside in 2023 and 2024 and take her down to the Mersey in 2027, the 100th anniversary of her rediscovery.
Do not forget to Gift Aid your donation.
