A 1952 Journey Inspiring A New Generation
Where is she now?
The Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding, in partnership with the Community Boat Project, restored and relaunched Felicity Ann on May 1, 2018. Ann Davison sailed Felicity Ann across the Atlantic Ocean in 1952 – the first successful solo crossing by a woman. The Felicity Ann Project is using the inspiration of Ann Davison’s accomplishment to encourage women and others to consider a career in the marine trades and is used as an on-the-water training platform for woman, youth, and the community.
Learn more at www.felicityann.org
History
Ann Davison sailed Felicity Ann across the Atlantic Ocean in 1952 – the first successful solo crossing by a woman.
Ann Davison (1914–1992), at the age of 39, crossed the Atlantic in her small but mighty 23 foot wood sloop, Felicity Ann. Ann departed Plymouth, England on May 18th, 1952, then set sail from the Canary Islands on November 20th,1952, with the goal of making land-fall in Antigua. Instead, storms pushed Felicity Ann south, past Barbados, resulting in Davison landing in Dominica on January 23, 1953. After time to recover in the Caribbean, she sailed north to Florida then and on to New York via the Intercoastal Waterway, arriving on November 23rd, 1953.
Felicity Ann was designed by Sid Mashford in 1936, built in 1939 under the name Peter Piper, by Mashford Brothers Ltd. of Creymyll Shipyard in Cornwall, England, and launched in 1949 as Felicity Ann. Three other identical hulls were built at the same time, and all remain, though only Selene is still actively sailed.
Five years after arriving in New York, Felicity Ann was sold and shipped to California where she was eventually found abandoned many years later. She was privately acquired and partially restored in Haines, Alaska in 2008-09. The owner became acquainted with a former student of the Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding and after consulting with him realized he could not fully complete the project. This led to Felicity Ann being donated to the NWSWB, whose history of fine woodworking and historic boat restoration was well known.
