 Blue Mermaid after 2019 rebuild | |
| General characteristics | |
|---|---|
| Type | Thames barge |
| Length | 87.84 feet (26.77 m) |
| Propulsion | Sails |
| Sail plan | Spritsail with bowsprit |
Blue Mermaid is a steel-hulled Thames sailing barge constructed between 2015 and 2019. She was built specifically to operate under sail and does not carry an engine. She is a replica of an older vessel of the same name, built in 1930 but sunk by enemy action during the Second World War.
Blue Mermaid was built to carry cargo, and in 2023 she received permission from the Maritime and Coastguard Agency to carry cargoes of up to 110 tonnes, on the Thames and along the North Sea coast between Lowestoft and Sandwich. In 1900 there were around 4,000 such barges, each with a crew of two and using just the wind and the tide, but she is the first sailing barge built for trade in Britain since 1930 and the first since the 1970s to be authorised as a commercial cargo carrier. [1]
Blue Mermaid is 87 feet (27 m) long and has a hold that can carry 84 pallettes or 150 short tons (140 t) of loose cargo. She has a couple of cabins aft for skipper and mate and bunks forward for five or six more crew. The hold can also be used for accommodation when it is empty. [2] [3]
Blue Mermaid was built at Toms shipyard in Polruan, near Fowey in Cornwall, and launched from there as a bare hull on 28 May 2016. The vessel was towed around the coast to Maldon where she was fitted out at the Downs Road Boatyard. [2] [3] [4] She will operate out of the Heybridge Basin.
Blue Mermaid belongs to the Maldon-based charity Sea Change Sailing Trust who have many years of experience taking all kinds of people sailing. Richard Titchener with his partner Hilary Halajko, runs both the barge and Sea Change Sailing Trust. They are also involved in training young people for a hands-on career in Maritime Heritage, supplying crew with heritage sail experience, essential for looking after and sailing the aging fleet of Britain's historic vessels.[ citation needed ]
 Reminder (sister ship) from Gillingham Pier | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | Blue Mermaid(1930–1942) |
| Owner | F W Horlock, Mistley |
| Builder | Mistley Shipping Company [5] |
| Launched | 1930 |
| Fate | Destroyed through enemy action |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Thames barge |
| Tonnage | 108 GRT |
| Length | 87.84 feet (26.77 m) |
| Beam | 19.38 feet (5.91 m) |
| Draught | 6.49 feet (1.98 m) |
| Propulsion | Sails |
| Sail plan | Spritsail with bowsprit |
Blue Mermaid was one of seven Thames barges built between 1925 and 1930 for F W Horlock, Mistley.
In 1924 the Horlocks commissioned seven new steel Thames barges, of which Blue Mermaid was the sixth. Six of these 'seven sisters' are still afloat: Blue Mermaid was lost to a mine in World War II. [6] They were built at Mistley.
| Name | Active | Built | Tons | Official no. | Current owner |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Repertor | Yes | 1924 | 69 | 145404 | David Pollock |
| Portlight | No | 1925 | 68 | 145405 | Landbreach Ltd |
| Xylonite | Yes | 1926 | 68 | 145408 | Tim Kent |
| Reminder | Yes | 1929 | 79 | 161033 | Topsail Charters Ltd |
| Adieu | Yes | 1929 | 79 | 161035 | Iolo Brooks |
| Blue Mermaid | No | 1930 | 79 | 161038 | (destroyed) |
| Resourceful | No | 1930 | 77 | 161039 | I & R Stubbs |
| Ref [7] | As of 2016 |
A Thames sailing barge is a type of commercial sailing boat once common on the River Thames in London. The flat-bottomed barges, with a shallow draught and leeboards, were perfectly adapted to the Thames Estuary, with its shallow waters and narrow tributary rivers. The larger barges were seaworthy vessels, and were the largest sailing vessel to be handled by just two men. The average size was about 120 tons and they carried 4,200 square feet (390 m2) of canvas sail in six working sails. The mainsail was loose-footed and set up with a sprit, and was brailed to the mast when not needed. It is sheeted to a horse, as is the foresail; they require no attention when tacking. The foresail is often held back by the mate to help the vessel come about more swiftly.
Jane Mary Benham MBE was an English painter and sailor who was instrumental in the formation and operation of the East Coast Sail Trust.
John Kemp (1926–1987) created and ran the East Coast Sail Trust, a charitable institution devoted to both character building for young people through education at sea, and preservation of Thames sailing barges. The Trust has been running for over 40 years, during which time many thousands of young people from Britain and around the world, have benefited from the experience that is provided. His earlier work on the preservation of Thames sailing barges was instrumental in the continued existence of the fleet today. He was also the author of three books and a prolific writer of newspaper and magazine articles.
Thalatta is a Thames sailing barge, built in Harwich, Essex, in 1906 and rebuilt in St Osyth in 2012. She is 90 feet (27 m) long and 26 feet (7.9 m) across the widest part of the deck. Like all Thames barges, she is flat-bottomed and has leeboards instead of a keel. She spent some of her life ketch-rigged and some of it spritsail-rigged. She is now permanently spritsail rigged, and has a mainmast and topmast that, together, are about 90 feet (27 m) high, and a mizzen mast. Thalatta has had two periods with an auxiliary engine and two without. She carried cargo for sixty years and was then converted for use as a sail training ship in 1966. She was completely rebuilt between 2006 and 2012 at St Osyth with assistance from lottery funds.
SB Cambria is a preserved spritsail Thames sailing barge now used for sail training. She was the last barge to trade entirely under sail, and took her last cargo in 1970. She is now restored and owned and operated by the Cambria Trust, a registered charity under English law.
Edith May is a wooden Thames sailing barge built in Harwich, Essex, in 1906. She was used to carry various cargoes until 1952, when a diesel engine was fitted, after which she was used in various Thames Sailing Barge matches, winning several. She was a museum ship for a time, and was restored in 2010 to offer charter trips on the River Medway. Her winter moorings are at Lower Halstow, where she opens during the weekend as a tearoom.
Will is a Thames sailing barge, built in Great Yarmouth by Fellows & Co in 1925. She is 97.6 ft (29.75 m) long, 23.1 ft (7.04 m) across and 9.6 ft (2.93 m) deep. Will Everard, as she was originally known, was commissioned as one of four steel barges; the largest ever built. She is a mulie, with a spritsail rigged mainmast, a topmast and a gaff-rigged mizzen. She has a flat bottom with leeboards as is customary for Thames sailing barges. As one of the last sailing cargo vessels to operate in UK waters she left trade in 1966. After a few years lying derelict, she was refitted and eventually entered into the service of P&O where she was used as a floating board room until 1999. This role in corporate hospitality continued and she now is fully engaged in private charter work. She currently operates out of the Pool of London from a base at Hermitage Community Moorings, Reeds Wharf and St Katherine Docks for cruises through London, the east coast and beyond.
SB Centaur is a wooden Thames sailing barge, built in Harwich, Essex, England in 1895. She was used to carry various cargoes, mainly grain, for the next 60 years. During the First World War she carried food and coal to the French Channel ports. During the Second World War Centaur was damaged when sailing to assist with the Dunkirk Evacuation. She did war work for the duration of the conflict.
SB Pudge is a wooden Thames sailing barge, built in Rochester, Kent, England in 1922. Her hull was pitch pine on oak frame. She was originally spritsail rigged with bowsprit. An auxiliary oil engine made by The Bergius Co.Ltd of Glasgow was installed in 1932. She was used to carry various cargoes for the London & Rochester Trading Co until 1968, when she was bought out of trade by the Thames Sailing Barge Trust. Her last cargo was pineapple juice.
Xylonite is one of seven Thames barges built between 1925 and 1930 for F W Horlock, Mistley. She was sold by the Horlocks in 1958 and cut down to a motor barge in 1958. Xylonite was re-rigged in the 1970s by Tim Eliff and replated on the 1980s. She has been used for sail training since 1983.
Kitty is a wooden Thames sailing barge in the bowsprit class of 65 tons. She was built in Harwich in 1895. She is No. 209 on the National Historic Ships Register.
Reminder is one of seven Thames barges built between 1925 and 1930 for F W Horlock, Mistley.
Repertor is one of seven Thames barges built between 1925 and 1930 for F W Horlock, Mistley.
Adieu is one of seven Thames barges built between 1925 and 1930 for F W Horlock, Mistley.
The Phoenician is a wooden Thames sailing barge constructed in Sittingbourne in 1922. She was derigged after an accident in 1940. She left trade in 1973. In the 1980s, she was re-rigged to her original specification.
SB Decima is a steel Thames sailing barge constructed in Southampton in 1899 by J.G. Fay and Co, Southampton for E. J. Goldsmith of Grays, Essex. She is back under sail and resident on the River Darent in Dartford, Kent. She is a notable "Historic Ship".
Ironsides is an iron-hulled Thames barge which was built in 1900 for APCM. She was registered in London. A 60 hp auxiliary engine was fitted in 1939.
Mirosa is a Thames barge which was built in 1892. From 1892 until 1947, she sailed under the name Ready when the name was sold to Trinity House for a lightship support vessel. Under her new name, she traded until 1955. Mirosa has never had an engine.
Edme is a Thames barge which was built in 1898 for the Horlocks of Mistley. She was registered in Harwich. She is one of two barge sailing today that have no auxiliary engine.
George Smeed is a Thames barge built in 1882 by Smeed Dean & Co. Ltd. in Murston.