Jenna Howe is SHTP2’s Sea-Change Trainee. She studied physics at uni, then had a few jobs as a web developer, before running away to sea in December 2017 and discovering a love for sailing and everything traditional boat-related.

Jenna joined Excelsior as a volunteer deckhand in 2018 and sailed with Polish sail training ship Frederyk Chopin on a voyage in the North Sea.

Read more here about Jenna, her time with us to date, about National Historic Ships UK’s SHTP Project and how to get involved yourself.

Sailing with the Colchester Institute Workprep Group

Chelsea learning to row while the rest of Workprep search for crabs. Where is Reminder?

Sea-Change win the Colindell Trophy

Richard receives the Colindell Trophy from the Society for Sailing Barge Research on behalf of Sea-Change and all those who have helped bring the Blue Mermaid project to a successful conclusion

We were visited by The Maritime Heritage Trust

The Friends of The Maritime Heritage Trust visited Maldon last Saturday to view Blue Mermaid and Brent.

More on these stories here

Lexden Springs School is a special, state funded junior & senior school for boys & girls in Colchester. It is an inclusive, vibrant Learning Community offering high quality education and care for all. It aims to create and maximise opportunities and empower individuals to fulfil their potential to be valued and confident members of society.

Regular clients, the school joined us last week for our first sailing residential of the season. Here you see them getting the barge boat up in the davits after a trip to East Mersea Stone in between the showers.

Yesterday was a big day in the life of Sea-Change.

Yesterday Blue Mermaid heeled to the breeze for the first time.

After many years fundraising and then building the result is here for all to see.

A big Thank You to all our supporters.

More photos here.

A faithfully created replica of one of the last Thames sailing barges will soon take to the seas for the first time.

Sea-Change Sailing Trust’s Blue Mermaid is an exact replica of the 1930 original, which was lost at sea during the Second World War.

The £700,000 Maldon-based project has been paid for through a collection of grants, including landfill operator Enovert Community Trust, which runs a plant near Colchester. Read the full Maldon Standard piece here.

Sea-Change Trustee Jim Thom admires the nearly finished skipper’s cabin in Blue Mermaid with contractor Heritage Marine‘s Jim Dines.

You can keep up with many of the fitting out tasks happening aboard by going to our Facebook, Instagram or Twitter feeds.