Two sailing barges collided during a race in strong winds on Saturday and one was left in danger of sinking as lifeboats brought pumps to the scene off the north Kent coast.

The Thames sailing barge Marjorie suffered more than £100,000 worth of damage after she was holed following a collision with the steel sailing barge Repertor in the Swale Barge and Smack Race, held off Whitstable.

The barges were carrying paying passengers when the collision happened. Marjorie was beached before she could sink and later towed into Oare Creek where a plywood patch was screwed down over builder's expanding foam on her port side just aft of the lee-board. She then made her way back to her berth at Hoo on the River Medway under her own power.

As this picture from Whitstable RNLI shows the damage was extensive.

See Dick Durham's blog.
Yachting Monthly, 11 August 2008