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.
A hoy is a small sloop-rigged coasting ship or a heavy barge used for freight, usually with a burthen of about 60 tons (bm). The word derives from the Middle Dutch hoey. In 1495, one of the Paston Letters included the phrase, An hoye of Dorderycht, in such a way as to indicate that such contact was then no more than mildly unusual. The English term was first used on the Dutch Heude-ships that entered service with the Royal Navy.
MV Celtic is a former Thames sailing barge which was built by Kievits & Van Reede in Papendrecht, Netherlands in 1903 for E J & W Goldsmith Ltd of London and Grays, Essex. She is currently under restoration at Sittingbourne, Kent.
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.
HMS Pelican was an 18-gun Cruizer-class brig-sloop of the Royal Navy, launched in August 1812. She is perhaps best known for her capture in August 1813 of the brig USS Argus. When the navy sold Pelican in 1865 she was the last Cruizer-class vessel still in service.
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.
Oreste was a 16-gun brig, the name ship of her class. She had been built to a design by Notaire Granville and was launched at Le Havre in 1805. The British captured her in 1810, renamed her HMS Wellington, but never commissioned her. She was broken up in 1812.
HMS Augustus was a Thames sailing barge that the British Royal Navy purchased in 1795 and used as a gun-vessel of two or three guns. She was under the command of Lieutenant James Scott when she was wrecked at Plymouth on 7 July 1801.
HMS Volage was a sixth-rate sailing frigate launched in 1825 for the Royal Navy. At one point geologist Thomas Abel Brimage Spratt served aboard her.
HMS Grace was one of 11 Thames sailing barges that the Admiralty purchased in 1794 for the British Royal Navy. After the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars the Navy found itself without vessels capable of inshore work and riverine operations. In 1795 the Admiralty started to order purpose-built schooner or brigantine-rigged gun vessels.
HMS New Betsey was one of 11 Thames sailing barges that the Admiralty purchased in 1794 for the British Royal Navy. After the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars the Navy found itself without vessels capable of inshore work and riverine operations. In 1795 the Admiralty started to order purpose-built schooner or brigantine-rigged gun vessels.
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 Wyvenhoe is an 83-ton, steel Thames sailing barge. She was built by Forrest & Sons, Wivenhoe in 1898. She has the Official No. 110012.
SB Marjorie is a 56-ton wooden Thames sailing barge, built by Orvis at Ipswich, Suffolk, England in 1898 for R. & W. Paul Ltd. She was used to carry various cargoes on the London River and along the Channel.
Ardwina was the last wooden Thames barge to be built in Ipswich. This was in 1909. She was registered in London. She worked commercially until 1956. She was laid up after a collision and restored as a yacht conversion. She is still sailing in 2018, based at St Katherine Docks, and regularly passes under Tower Bridge.
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.
The British Royal Navy purchased two vessels in 1795, both named HMS Friendship. Both were lost in November 1801. The parallels in names and dates has resulted in the two vessels, and their fates, probably being conflated.
Great Britain