Thames barge floating cinema is coming to town

Blue Mermaid - a chance to look around when she visits Brightlingsea

By:

Staff Reporter

A unique cinema in the hold of a Thames barge will be visiting Brightlingsea during a tour of 10 ports around the south-east coast.

Blue Mermaid will be tied up on the town pontoon on Brightlingsea Hard from June 21-24, offering the public the chance to look around and see displays about the heritage of Thames barges and what’s being done to keep them sailing.

On the Friday and Saturday evenings, the hold will be transformed into a cinema for showings of the film, Wind, Tide and Oar, which looks at engineless sailing and the lives of those who sail without auxilliary power. The film, which premiered at the Royal Museums in Greenwich, took three years to make and was shot on 16mm film.

Blue Mermaid is an 87ft-long sail training vessel operated by the Maldon-based Sea Change Sailing Trust and began sailing in 2019. The original barge bearing the name was one of the last sailing barges built, in 1930, and was lost during the war. Her namesake is a steel-hulled replica, traditionally rigged and capable of carrying up to 110 tonnes of cargo.

The coastal tour is supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and the barge will be crewed by young people who will be working towards their National Historic Ships UK ‘Traditional Seafarer’ course.

During her Brightlingsea visit, Blue Mermaid will be open to the public from 6-7pm on Friday, June 21 for public visiting, with the film screening following at 7pm until 8.30pm. The day after the public can tour from 5-6pm with the film starting at 6pm. On Monday 24th, local primary school children will be visiting, with skilled maritime heritage craftsmen and women demonstrating their work with the aim of inspiring young minds to think about alternative careers in the future.

Visits to the barge are free, and free tickets for the film screenings are available from www.windtideandoar.com. For more information about the Sea Change Sailing Trust, click here.

•Brightlingsea-based shanty group will be singing on the Hard on Friday, June 21 – midsummers’s day – from 7.30pm. The Colne Yacht Club’s Oar Store bar will be open.