THE Shipowners' P&I Club is sponsoring the Mark Boyle Memorial Thames Sailing Barge Match which took place recently to mark the memory of Capt Mark Boyle who revived the event in 1995 that ran more than a century every summer until his death last year at the age of 55.
The match, the second oldest sailing race in the world after the America's Cup, was the brainchild of Henry Dodd a wealthy London businessman from humble origins who built his business on waste transportation by sailing-barge from London to refuse works along the river supplying ash for the brick-making industry. He was a good friend of Charles Dickens, who used him as the model for Mr Boffin, the refuse magnate of the novel 'Our Mutual Friend'.
Dodd noticed the intense rivalry between his sailing-barge skippers and decided to harness this competitiveness to make his business more efficient by organising annual races.
The first Match in 1863 ran from Erith, South-east London to Canvey Island, Essex and back with a cash prize to the winner, under the flag of the Prince of Wales Yacht Club. The title, it should be noted, derived not from any early royal patronage but from the Prince of Wales public house in Erith.
In 1864, Dodd opened the race up to all-comers and after several years he passed the Thames Sailing Barge Match organisation to a committee of barge owners. Over time, the contestants started to build Spritsail sailing barges specifically designed for speed to win the race. This attracted massive interest and spectator numbers grew to tens of thousands.
At his death in 1881, Dodd bequeathed part of his considerable legacy to the race and this maintained it for the next 100 years. The race continued with some breaks into the 20th century and maintained its highly competitive edge.
In the 1963 Centenary race, for example, the two main rivals (F T Everard and Sons Ltd and the London & the Rochester Trading Co) invested heavily in their fastest barges to ensure victory for vessels that had long since become museum pieces. The winning speed of F T Everard's Veronica was faster than that of all but six previous America's Cups.
All 16 contestants are historic craft; although not competing this year Cabby is the last wooden Thames barge to be built, in 1928 (another historic connection with Shipowners, which insured her from 1930 until recently).
These evocative vessels are survivors of a fleet once 5,000 strong. The average age of the competing barges this year is 105 years.
WORLD SHIPPING
12 July 2013 - 19:25
Shipowners' insurer P&I Club sponsor revived Thames Sailing Barge Match
THE Shipowners' P&I Club is sponsoring the Mark Boyle Memorial Thames Sailing Barge Match which took place recently to mark the memory of Capt Mark Boyle
WORLD SHIPPING
12 July 2013 - 19:25
Shipowners' insurer P&I Club sponsor revived Thames Sailing Barge Match
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