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.

Ditchcrawler, aka Nick Ardley paid us a visit earlier in the month. This is what he found.

“I paid a visit to The Sea-Change Sailing Trust at the Downs Road Boat Yard – to deliver a letter. Well, I wanted to view the Blue Mermaid too, obviously …” read the rest here.

Click photo to enlarge

Today Blue Mermaid’s main and  topsails have been set for the first time together with her bob.

A proud moment both for ourselves and for Maldon Little Ship Club whose logo we carry.