Book a Sailing Barge Trip in Essex & Suffolk ~ Thames Sailing Barge Trust

Sail with us on a traditional Thames sailing barge

As an individual or with a few friends you can join others on one of our Cruises. (If you are a group of up to 12 you can hire/charter the whole barge for your private use)

Children (7 years of age up to 17 years) may sail with us subject to being accompanied by a responsible adult and also wearing a life jacket on deck. We will supply the life jacket and there will be a limit of 2 children per trip.

We specialise in weekend or longer trips where you stay in our on-board accommodation. Occasionally we also sail do Full Day trips.

Because we carry a maximum of only 12 passengers (8 on Centaur) we like to maintain a “Club” atmosphere on board. If you fancy having a go at setting the sails or taking a turn on the wheel our friendly crew will “Show you the ropes” when safe to do so. If you just want to sit on deck and watch the experts that’s fine with us! On the longer trips when it comes to the domestic stuff we provide the provisions and everyone mucks in with some simple cooking and of course clearing up afterwards.

Our trips are run on various dates between May and September.

TSBT Sailing & Charters Ltd publish the sailing programme in good faith. All sailing trips are subject to the prevailing weather, wind and tide conditions, and the Skipper will take all these factors into account on the day.

Guidelines for Cruises

Please find further information and book cruises below.

Pudge and Centaur have different facilities and accommodation.

Pudge

Pudge was restored in 2022 and as part of that programme her below deck accommodation was upgraded and more facilities added.
Pudge has the following:
Six two berth insulated cabins each fitted with individual lights and USB charging ports
Three heads (toilets with wash basin, on has a hot water shower)
Heating is available for those colder nights
A fully equipped galley with two LPG cookers and two 24v fridges.
A saloon which is comfortable for eating meals and relaxing in the evenings.

Centaur

Centaur's accommodation is much older and has not been updated for many years and hence she has a more traditional ambience with darker wood, and sailing barge match plaques adorning her saloon and galley.
Centaur has the following:
Three four berth cabins each fitted with wash basin with cold water feed and light
One two berth cabin fitted with wash basin with cold water feed. Hot water is provided by boiling kettles.
Note: The Trust only sails with eight passengers so no more than two share a cabin. For charters this can be increased to twelve passengers
Two heads (one has wash basin fed by cold water)
Heating is available in the saloon for those colder nights, fueled by wood
A fully equipped galley with two LPG cookers and two 12v fridges.
A saloon which is comfortable for eating meals and relaxing in the evenings.