Thames Sailing barge Pudge is 100
Built in 1922 for the London & Rochester Barge Co Ltd,
Pudge is one of the remaining Thames sailing barges, still leading an active existence. She took part in Operation Dynamo during the Dunkirk evacuations and survived after the towing tug St Fagan took a direct hit. She became a motor barge for a while but was converted back to sail in 1968 by the Thames Barge Sailing Club (now the Thames Barge Sailing Trust), a community based, not-for-profit charity run by volunteers.
Pudge is having work to renew her decks, beams, ceilings, carlings and more, by Kevin J Finch in Maldon. The Trust aims to have Pudge sailing again for a full season in 2023. bargetrust.org