Edith May (barge)

The Thames sailiing barge Edith May was built for her original owners, William Barrett of Leytonstone and Captain Howard, her first skipper, before being sold to Alfred Sully, who managed the barge from just after the Great War. 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 Manitoba wheat, but more typically she would carry around 120 tons.

In 1952 an auxiliary engine was fitted and from this time until she was sold out of trade, 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” a must for all literary enthusiasts on barging matters.

Edith May was built for racing as a medium sized coasting barge and is amongst only a handful of barges to have been built with a rockered bottom to enhance performance. The late Vernon Harvey bought the barge from trade and she was rerigged 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

ref - http://www.edithmaybargecharter.co.uk/