End of the Sail Cargo season
Cargo charterer Sinead brings in the jib sail on the approach to St Katharine Docks.
Within the sail cargo season, now is the time for a brief retreat to dock and boatyard, for the annual round of repairs, refits and reflection, and to begin the planning for next year.
We’re thrilled to have charted new waters again in 2020, bringing a Thames sailing barge into the sail cargo network for the first time, first with the team at TSB Dawn and then – in September – with TSB Will. After bringing De Gallant to St Katharine Docks in July, the second arrival of the season came in September when we organised the trans-loading of cargo at Ramsgate, from De Gallant onto Sailing Barge Will, and from there up the estuary to London.
Perhaps the best part was giving our volunteers and supporters the chance to be part of the crew for the estuary stage of the journey, from Ramsgate to St Katharine Docks, after the cargo had been transferred from De Gallant. This trip was a chance for us to try out the logistics of using a Thames sailing barge as part of the sail cargo network, to begin to gauge demand for paid charterers (which are an important part of our long-term business plan) and to reward volunteers and project participants.
With some great feedback …
“Such an amazing day, so happy to have been part of your pioneering trip. I will definitely be back for more”
“I'd like to say thanks again for the opportunity to sail up the Thames on a sailing barge. Since moving to London five years ago I've admired these sailing beauties and was delighted to get a chance to sail on one, even better as part of support for Raybel and sail cargo.
The Will crew were great, very friendly and we had a few jokes. They explained everything, offered chances to get involved in the sailing, which I did as sailed on tall ships etc many years ago, and really enjoyed it. As an archaeologist it was fascinating to approach the city from the river, as many who came to London throughout history would have first seen it. This view gives a different perspective on the lie of the land.”
Meanwhile, shore-side, we’ve been using these downtime months to consolidate our distribution plans, taking the chance to build more alliances with zero waste shops, cafes, restaurants, and foodies keen to join the expanding community of sail-cargo enthusiasts in London.
We know there are plenty of details still to sort out. As we start to bring in larger amounts cargo, storage is becoming an issue. As is distribution around the city – though that’s been greatly helped by the link-up we’ve made with cargo bike company PedalMe. Ideally we’d love to have more ‘port allies’ in London, connecting to different communities and areas of the city (get in touch to get involved). That way we can keep the contact close, supportive and …. well, fun and playful, rather than it becoming a logistical machine. We also still figuring out if it’s best to focus on selling stock at the couple of ship arrivals into Lopndon we can do each year, or whether to keep some back, so we can keep customers supplied during the six months when there are no ship arrivals on the horizon.
Ambitions for 2021 – we have a few. Ramsgate looks likely to be the main destination for De Gallant when it visits our part of the world, so we’re keen to develop the barge connections, trans-loading from De Gallant, and running barges to more docks and wharves along the Thames estuary, and maybe up the Essex, Suffolk and Norfolk coasts as well. And we’d love to moor up in Limehouse Basin, where we’d be able to connect to London’s canal system … visions here of a cargo canal cruise, taking in Bow, the Lea Valley, Hackney, and on to the canal side steps of Kings Cross. Dreamland.
Gareth