Edme Today

Not many people can fail to be stirred by the site of a Thames Sailing Barge in full sail. This is the only way you will see S.B. Edme as she has never had an engine. She is rigged and sailed by her crew in the same way as when she was built in 1898.

It would be true to say that this was one of the attractions to her present owners, most of which came from sailing, and racing, traditional East Coast Smacks (ex fishing boats), it seemed a natural progression in 1989 to take on the Edme, and keep up these traditional sailing skills on a larger scale!

In 1989 Andy Harman, Shipwright and Skipper, took her to his Boat Yard in St Osyth. Initial work began mainly rebuilding her starboard side, no mean task, but she was rigged and ready to go racing by 1992.

Andy pulled together a band of shareholders and sailing enthusiasts, who have for over a decade enjoyed conciderable success on the racing circiut. Eight races are held annually around the East Coast. Split into three catagories, Edme falls into the Bow Sprit class, which is the fastest type. These races are spectacular to watch. Crews are extraordinarily competitive, none more so than the Edme crew who won their first Champion Barge award for overall performance in 2004. For more information about the racing go to http://www.sailingbargeassociation.co.uk

In 2002 Edme decided to take on the challenge of loading aboard a cargo of 60 tons of varigated stone. Most barges today have been converted into living quarters below deck, but Edme still has her original hatches (and open hold), which can be removed for loading. This was an extraoridinary event. Many skippers, sailing today, have had no experience of sailing a barge with cargo! Laying low on the water line, it was an important and great experence for all to see, and feel, how she responded to these conditions, and for which the barges had  originally been built. The first barge to carry a cargo for over 30 years.

It was also in 2002 that an excemption certificate was applied for, enabling interested parties who wished to experience the power of Edme in full sail, to come for a trip aboard. The income she receives from the day charters is ploughed back into her conciderable upkeep and preservation.

Present owners;
Andy Harman
Jane Harman
Dick Harman
Andrew Balfe
Lucy Balfe
Vanessa Lewis
Roland Strube