Thames Sailing Barge Yearbook

Publisher: Privately Published, 2005 £ 5.95,

This is a gem of a book which will be much enjoyed by anyone interested in the London River, in sailing and in people.   Forget the ‘Yearbook’ and the ‘2005’ tag:  it is a delightful and very informative introduction to the lower Thames combined with 150 years of racing and sailing in Thames barges written with the intent to keep it up to date year by year.

The story is hung round the annual barge races from Gravesend out to the sea and back and is largely designed to encourage people to watch the 2005 race which takes place on Saturday 16 July.   It is peppered with anecdotes, photographs, line drawings and ancient advertisements all set into the historical context of the event described.   Such matters as giving the price of a pint of beer at the time in today’s money, tales of ancient one-upmanship and how to access a recalcitrant web-site well illustrate the range of information covered.   Described well is the problem of taking photographs of boats at sea, the buoyage of the area, shoreside locations (17 fortifications and numerous pubs on the Kent shore alone) and their history.  

There are 15 maps, obviously drawn by a seaman, but curiously with vertical scales different from horizontal scales.   If you ever sail up or down the lower river the shoreside information on dozens of sites, visible and invisible, alone makes the book worth buying.   The great majority have a web-site address for even more information.   The Thames barge crews (known as ‘sailormen’) were heavy drinkers so the book has a very comprehensive list of pubs on both sides of the river and very comprehensive ‘sailing directions’ to access them on car, foot or sea where the latter is possible.

Concentrating on the barge theme, there is a list of all known extant barges, their home berths, winter locations and very detailed descriptions of significant features.   A list of all races and locations for 2005 is included together with much supplementary information such as bibliographies, the origin of names and even how to organise a barge event yourself.   Once there were nearly 3,000 barges but there are now only 55 remain.   28 are actively sailing and 15 can be hired for static parties, day trips or longer periods.

A highly recommended book.   Get it from www.sailingbargeyearbook.org.uk - TO

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