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14:37 Sunday 7 Aug 2016 Sue Pelling/AAMCWSwallow swoops down on The Parade

Photo – Tom Gruitt/AAMCW

Family Day at Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week couldn’t have been a better platform in which to showcase the new Swallows & Amazons film, just about to be launched by StudioCanal.

This new modern adaption of the famous adventure book by Arthur Ransome, in cinemas on 19^th August, is one of the most popular features here at Aberdeen Asset Management on Family day.

Hoards of families of all ages have been flocking to the Swallows & Amazons stand on The Parade to see Swallow, the beautiful 14ft clinker-built boat used in the film. Visitors to the stand have also had the pleasure of meeting Nick Barton the film’s producer.

According to Barton, sourcing the boats for the film wasn’t easy and in the end, took four years. Barton explains: “We had to find boats that closely resembled those in the original story. The boats we finally selected were recommended by a boat builder in the Lake District but it took ages to track them down. I found one in Cumbria, one in Wales and the spare in Ireland.”

The boats are actually Royal Naval Sailing Association boats built in the 1950s and 1960 for the Royal Navy to take round the world on destroyers and frigates. Barton continues: “The idea was to teach young sailors to sail proper sailing boats, so they are very strongly built.”

Interestingly, however, they were originally gunter rigged, with a jib, which meant the Swallows & Amazons team had to re-rig them to lug sails, as they were in the book.

Swallow is on display all day on The Parade, and is well worth a taking a look at, particularly for those planning a visit to the cinema on 19 August to see the film.