A SAILING barge which first raced on the Thames more than 100 years ago will be one of the competitors at Southend’s 48th barge match on Sunday.

Among the competitors at the annual festival will be Cambria, which has just had a £1.4million, four-year restoration.

She first raced on the Thames in 1906, when new, and has never been fitted with an engine, unlike all the other competitors.

Her appearance will bring back vivid memories for Leigh journalist and author, Dick Durham, 60, who worked on her as mate for 14 months when he was 18.

Mr Durham, officer of the day for the event, will be reunited with the Cambria for the first time since he helped her collect and deliver her last cargo, 40 years ago.

He said: “The cargo we carried could be anything from timber to cattle feed, which was ground nut cake.

“Our most unusual freight was from a Dutch ship in the Thames where we transported 60 tons of unscented talcum powder to Lower Upnor, on the River Medway.”

Big barges like the Cambria transported freight from large cargo ships to smaller coastal and river ports all round the coast of Britain. A typical crew was a skipper, a mate, a third hand, and a cook.

However, when Mr Durham joined the Cambria, there was just the skipper, Bob Roberts, and his border collie, Penny.

Mr Durham works for Yachting Monthly and believes sailing barges could still be commercially viable.

He added: “Cambria had 5,000 sq ft of sail and could carry the equivalent of four juggernauts worth of cargo in a vessel handled by just two people. The only issue is timing.

“If anyone asked the skipper when the Cambria would arrive, he would always joke, ‘five past three on Wednesday’.”

In 1990, Mr Durham published a book – the Last Sailorman – about his time on the vessel.

The barge race starts at 11am on Sunday and the best viewpoint is the pierhead.