Going fast on a broad reach- # 319

I used to be a "frost-bite sailor", crewing for a chap who owned a Fireball...a kind of floating ironing board with a huge sail area that gave it tremendous speed. I had to hang out on the trapeze wire, horizontal over the water. I often muffed the change over when we went about and we both ended up in the cold grey water with a strong wind blowing. We righted the boat, scrambled back in and set off again. My little sailing cap only blew off once and floated away. I never saw it again. But 30 years later I still wear and treasure the little blue cap that replaced it.

Dutch barge applying for British citizenship - # 176

Staying with barges, here is one of the Dutch sailing barges lying at Richmond awaiting conversion to a very comfortable residential barge.

Notice the typical rounded bow ( a Thames Barge has a vertical sharp bow), and the huge keel boards for when it is under sail - typical of all shallow water sailing barges. Note also that, different from the Thames Barge, it has no mizzen mast at the back to carry a small steering sail. I don't know why this is. It obviously has something to do with not having the same manoeuvrability needs. Could a true sailing barge expert tell me why?

Would you buy a used barge from a Dutch dealer? - # 131

Here's a fine example of a typical Dutch motorised sailing barge built to carry cargo and work the wide gauge canals of Holland. There are always several of these looking slightly "down at heel" lying at moorings around Richmond waiting to be refurbished into water borne homes.

What puzzles me is this: where do they end up? I see them in a rough state, brought across the North Sea for refurbishing, but I never see one finally done up and lived on. Perhaps they go back down river to a swanky berth nearer to fashionable Chelsea Reach.