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.
Blue Mermaid is long and has a hold that can carry 84 pallettes or 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.
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. 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. |hide_header= |country=United Kingdom |flag= |name=
Blue Mermaid(1930–1942) |owner=*F W Horlock, Mistley |builder=Mistley Shipping Company |original_cost= |laid_down= |launched=1930 |identification= |fate= Destroyed through enemy action |notes= }} |hide_header= |header_caption= |type=
Thames barge |tonnage= |length= |beam= |draught= |propulsion=Sails |sail_plan=
Spritsail with bowsprit |notes= }} }} ==
Blue Mermaid (1930) ==