The Thames Barge where I spent a weekend tacking up the Blackwater estuary and riding back on the wind and tide was not a small boat, very broad and flat bottomed. Despite this, as we tacked downstream, zig-zagging to keep the wind in the sails, the side-wind on the massive sails resulted the barge having a distinct lean. Every 30 minutes or so the barge would tilt the other way after the call “Ready About”, and the sails swung across the deck and we changed direction. The eventual return trip was more straightforward, the barge fairly skimming along, following the wind and the tide, although to be honest, since the we travelling at the same speed as the wind and water the motion was only noticeable as we passed fixed buoys. We anchored in mid-river overnight, and during dinner there was as much liquid flowing in the main cabin as there was below the hull.
