Bottoms up!
Never seen what's underneath a smack? Here's Maria pushed to the limit during the last race of Mersea Week 2014, which she won. Rumours that the crew requested toe straps for the 2015 season haven't been confirmed....!
Just a perfect day at Pin Mill
Pin Mill was the venue for a perfect day's sailing on July 11 – the day of the annual PMSC Smacks and Working Boats Race. Paul, Sally and Joe had sailed Maria round from Brightlingsea the day before and race day saw David, Crispin, Tom, Floss, Pete and Drew join them...
Rainy Rowhedge
Light and shifty winds greeted the crew who assembled for Rowhedge Regatta at the civilised start time of 10am at Brightlingea's Bateman's Tower. We opted for the middle of the river on the reaching start, aiming to creep up the Point Clear shore on the fetch/beat out...
The season begins with a bullet!
Spruced up with a shiny new coat of paint and smoothed seams for 2015, Maria was ready for the Wivenhoe Regatta race on June 6. With her on the Bateman's Tower line were the big smacks Sunbeam, Alberta, and My Alice, all of whom beat Maria to the reaching start....
Course record in the Colne
A light breeze greeted the crew of Maria as they mustered for a 7.30am start at the Colne Smack and Barge match on September 13. There was enough wind to blow the fleet out of the river under full sail, but not enough – or so it seemed – to break the course record...
Tall Ships win for crewman Tom in Duet
Occasional Maria crewman Tom Bridle showed a fleet that included some of the world's largest sailing ships how to do it when he skippered the Cirdan Trust's gaff rigged yawl Duet to victory in the Falmouth to Greenwich Tall Ships' Race at the beginning of September....
Enter the Dragon
Foredeck supremo Pete Hickman jumped ship for Mersea Regatta to take the helm of his newly-acquired Dragon round the cans for the first time with Lucy Harris of Helen & Violet fame at the sharp end. Despite his class starting 10 minutes after Maria's, Pete crossed...
Caption competition – cake related!
We like a good cake on Maria - but just what is going on here? Can you come up with a caption? Use the Contact Form to drop us a line and we'll publish the best – there might be a cake in it for the one we think the best....!
Breezy Mersea
It was an early start for Maria's crew on the last Saturday in August - the sun had yet to rise when the crew assembled on the jetty for the sail round to West Mersea for the annual regatta. Despite a stiff breeze on the nose, we were round in plenty of time for the...
Maria goes to a wedding!
Not many smacks have been to a wedding. Fewer still have been part of the reception. But when crew members Sally Gentry and Joe Harman tied the knot on August 23, Maria was an important part of the proceedings. Following the wedding at All Saints' in Brightlingsea,...