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Edith May

Edith May Thames Barge.JPG
Edith May on the River Medway near Chatham
History
United Kingdom
Name: Edith May
Owner: William Barrett
Operator: William Barrett
Builder: J & H Cann (Harwich)
Commissioned: 1906
Decommissioned: 1952
Status: Private use and private charter ship
General characteristics
Tonnage: 125
Length: 86 ft (26 m)
Beam: 20.75 ft (6.32 m)
Height: 0 ft (0 m) to top of mainmast
Draught: 4 ft (1.2 m) distance between the waterline and the bottom of the hull (keel)
Propulsion: Sail and diesel engine
Speed: 0 knots (0 km/h) maximum speed
Range: 0 nautical miles (0 km)
Notes: Built of constructed of Pitch Pine on Oak

Edith May is a wooden Thames sailing barge built in Harwich, Essex, in 1906. She was used to carry various cargoes (mainly grain) 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.

The Thames sailing barge Edith May was built for her original owners, William Barrett of 153 Mornington Road, Leytonstone, Essex and her first skipper was Captain Howard. She was then sold to Alfred Sully (also known as G.F. Sully based in London), who managed the barge from just after the First World War. They owned many Thames sailing barges at that time, with Edith May the smallest barge. The barge continued in the ownership of Sully’s throughout her working life, carrying cereal products, wheat, barley etc. between East Anglia and London. Her largest cargo was 133 tons of wheat (from Manitoba, Canada), but more typically she would carry around 120 tons.

In 1952 an auxiliary engine was fitted (a Ford diesel engine of 120 hp).

In 1953, she won the Thames Barge Sailing match under the skippership of Chubb Horlock. It was believed to be the Coronation Match of that year.

In September 1957, she was converted into a motor barge at Colchester.

Then Vernon Harvey bought the barge from trade and she was re-rigged with the gear from the famous racing barge, Veronica when her career ended in 1963. Regarded as a latter day racing Queen, the Edith May dominated the Sailing Barge Matches of the 1960s, 1970s and early 1980s and to this day her reputation is still revered amongst bargemen.

After 1961, she was re-rigged by Jack Spitty (an Essex-born barge skipper) for the owner.

In January 1961, she operated as a motor barge, skippered by Bob Childs, a local bargeman. Bob in his retirement, wrote the book Rochester Barges.

In 1966, Jack Spitty became the Skipper in several matches. Anglia Television produced a programme about Jack Spitty and his barge Edith May as part of the Bygones series.

In 1971, Jack Spitty (aged 79) also won the Blackwater Sailing barge race.


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