Thames Sailing Barge ‘Victor’ is one of the oldest such vessels still operating. Following a major re-fit in 2005/2006, she is now available for charter, providing people with the opportunity to experience what it was like to sail on one of the working boats that were once a familiar sight on the Thames and East Coast rivers.

Victor is now restored to her traditional 19th century rig to provide an authentic traditional sailing experience.  However, for the safety and comfort of passengers, she is equipped with all modern safety equipment, quality accommodation, a professional galley and modern toilets and shower facilities.

She is the only Thames Sailing Barge now based at the beautiful town of Mistley in Essex, at the head of the River Stour. Charters can be arranged from here and from other historic trading ports, including Ipswich OldCustoms House, Harwich HalfpennyPier, Brightlingsea, Maldon, Tower Bridge, Tilbury, Orford and Aldeburgh.

Built in Ipswich for the linseed oil trade
The 82-ton Victor was built in 1895 by Horace Shrubsall at the Dock End Yard, Ipswich, for Owen Parry.  She was registered in London, and has a length of 82.2 feet, a beam of 20.3 feet and draws 6 feet. Until the Second World War she collected linseed from farms around the East Coast and took it to Owen Parry's mill in Colchester, from where she carried the processed oil to London in barrels. It is thought that this cargo may have in large part contributed to her excellent condition.

From 1926, she was skippered by Felix Mallett, one of the most renowned skippers of his generation with distinguished service in both world wars. When Owen Parry sold his business to the London and Rochester Shipping Company in 1932, the barge was valued at £450.

War service as an ammunition ship
During the 1939-45 war, Victor took on munitions in Chatham dock, including torpedoes and shells, for transfer to warships under cover of darkness.  She was lucky to survive a bomb, which hit and completely destroyed a lighter lying alongside her.

Victor was the last sailing barge to be decommissioned after the war, and was towed to Brightlingsea, along with another barge, and was lucky again. The tow was too fast, and Chieftain was towed under and lost, but Victor survived

Short career as a strip club
In the 1950s, Victor was converted to a motor barge, and traded for the London & Rochester Company on the Medway until she was sold in 1964, again for £450. In the following ten years, she passed through the hands of three owners, and had a short career as a strip club before being taken to Ramsgate for Henry Winger.

Luck was on her side again when she got into difficulties in The Channel and her crew had to abandon her. The Ramsgate lifeboat picked up the crew and managed to tow her into Ramsgate, where she lay unused for four years, before being taken to the Medway as a houseboat.

In 1974, Owen Emerson, a navy-trained shipwright, bought Victor.  He rebuilt and re-rigged her.

In 1995, she changed hands again, and was operated as a 40-passenger charter barge and floating office for her owner’s consultancy business, located primarily on the South Coast at Beaulieu and at Tower Bridge, London

Total restoration by present owners
Victor was bought by her present owners, Steve Godwin and Tony Chancellor, in 2005.  They brought her back to the East Coast, and she is now based at Horlocks old yard at Mistley, where David and Wendy Foster of Mistley Marine provide a fine berth and facilities.

She underwent a major refit in 2005/2006 at Maldon and Mistley, including new mast, sprit, running and standing rigging.  She also got new electric, water and heating systems, and new water and fuel tanks. Also, her decks, saloon, cabins, galley and heads were refurbished.

As a result, Victor is now fully restored, and working again in the charter and events business with a Maritime and Coastguard Agency passenger licence for 40 persons, a testament to her fine condition.

Owners Steve and Tony would be pleased to hear from anyone with information, anecdotes, stories or photographs of Victor or her previous masters and crews.

Chartering Victor can be arranged through:
Classic Yacht Charters Ltd, 7 Heathside Road, Norwich NR1 1TH
Tel 01603 760161 or by contacting Steve Godwin at steve.godwin@sbvictor.co.uk.
Web site www.sbvictor.co.uk