Sea-Change Sailing Trust’s ‘Sail Cargo’ initiative is a way to engage trainees in low-carbon delivery at heavily discounted prices while providing residential opportunities for young people and vulnerable adults to learn and develop aboard a ship.
Since 2007, Sea-Change Sailing Trust has worked residentially afloat with young people, vulnerable adults, and seamanship trainees. The current Lord Mayor, Professor Alderman Michael Mainelli, is committed to the benefits of using the river. He supported the appeal to replace hired vessels with a replica of the last sailing barge built for trade in 1930, the Blue Mermaid, lost in 1941 and recorded on the Merchant Navy Memorial on Tower Hill.
Commissioned in 2019, the new barge is a successful sail training vessel, with permanent accommodation fore and aft with demountable fittings in an open cargo hold between. Being engineless, she has ultra-low emissions and the small amount of carbon produced is offset by Yacht Carbon Offset Ltd. The barge can carry up to 120 tons of bagged or palletised material (four articulated lorry loads) on the coasts of Suffolk, Essex and Kent and into London, engaging trainees in low-carbon delivery to give purpose to voyages.
In August 2024, Sea-Change is giving environmentally aware companies in or near London the opportunity to be supplied by water at the 1931 freight rate as used by the original Blue Mermaid. This means cement from Brightlingsea will cost four shillings and ten pence a ton, old coinage preferred, provided other incidental costs are covered, like berthing and cranage.
Sea Change are aware that some of our members are in buying groups. While this offer is for positive publicity rather than commercial purposes, Sea-Change also welcomes assistance in developing contact with buying groups to help develop their ideas.
If interested, please contact [email protected]
