Farewell Ardwina
- Category: News
- Date Published: 6th March 2024
After 44 years as part of the Rolfe Judd family, we are delighted to announce that Tiller & Wheel are the new custodians of our beautiful wooden Sailing Barge Ardwina.
Over the last 2 years Rolfe Judd have undertaken a lengthy process of finding an organisation we could partner with to give the Ardwina a long-term future. Tiller & Wheel were introduced to us in the Autumn 2023 and have proved to have been the perfect fit.
Tiller & Wheel Ltd was formed in 2019 by husband and wife team, Ed Gransden and Heather Burgess. They already own two other historic sailing vessels (a Whistable Oyster Smack – Thistle & their own Sailing Barge – the Edith May) and they have created a sustainable business model where they refurbish and re-purpose historic sailing vessels to ensure their ongoing preservation, but to also offer experiences and sailing trips along the Kent coast and into London. You can hear about Tiller & Wheels reasons for selecting us and Ardwina on this video.
Ed and Heather are incredibly passionate and enthusiastic, and you can read more about their story on their website. They operate on the basis of a patronage and subscription model which allows people to access their sailing experiences on their historic vessels. They also have a team of volunteers who help maintain and repair historic vessels and will making improvements to Ardwina so she can carry passengers again.
Ardwina is a Thames spritsail barge built in 1909, the last wooden barge to be built by Orvis & Fuller in Ipswich. Originally owned by EJ&W Goldsmith of Colchester, Ardwina initially worked in the Thames Estuary and along the South Coast, carrying stone between Portland and Greenwich. It faced many challenges over the following years, including being dismasted in 1938 and colliding with a coaster in 1948. Rolfe Judd rescued and restored Ardwina in 1979 and, since then, both our staff and clients have enjoyed a great many trips from her home in St Kats Docks up to the Thames barrier.
Ardwina will set sail from St Katherine Docks at the end of April, meeting Edith May at Tower Bridge and sailing together to her new home at Lower Halstow where she will be housed and renovated for her next adventure with Tiller & Wheel. This won’t be the end of Rolfe Judd’s relationship with Ardwina, one of our key reasons for choosing Tiller & Wheel as her new owners, was the opportunity to remain involved and continue to be part of the Sailing Barge community.
