The Crossfields of Arnside Archive
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Yachts

Ziska

Ziska was launched at Arnside on 28th January 1903, eleven months before the first aircraft flight in December 1903. In 2019 she took part in the Race2Alaska. The race aims to highlights the latest technology in sail and human powered boats

Boat statistics

Built
1903
Length Over All
38 ft (11.58 m)
Waterline
34 ft (10.36 m)
Beam
11.5 ft (3.51 m)
Draft
5 ft (1.52 m)
Rig
Gaff Cutter

Introduction

Ziska was built as a yacht for John Aspden of Lytham. Ziska spent her early life in the Irish Sea, before moving to Whitby after the Second World War, then Plymouth and Cowes.. She was sailed across the Atlantic by Ashley Butler, a young boatbuilder in 1999, who then spent four years cruising her in the Caribbean and off the USA,.  She featured in a  documentary by the explorer Tim Severin investigating the different inspirations for Robinson Crusoe in 2000. In 2006 she was transported across America to the West Coast by road. In 2026 she has a new owner who plans to take her down to the Gulf of Mexico.

Explore the Crossfields Family Tree

Browse the main boat classes and the individual Crossfields-built boats currently included in the archive.

  1. Arthur Ransome Boats

  2. Bay Boats

  3. Blackpool and Fleetwood Jewel Class

  4. Crossfields Successors

  5. Morecambe Bay Prawners

  6. Rowing Boats

  7. Royal Mersey Rivers Class

  8. Sir William Priestley and Replicas

  9. Steam Boat

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