Richard Titchener (d.o.b 9th November 1955). Growing up in Brightlingsea in the 1960s and 70s, Richard was fascinated by its waterside. There was a strong maritime heritage and sizeable fishing boats still worked; conversations in the shops would be interrupted by the hooters of coasting ships calling for pilots to take them to the busy port of Colchester; on quiet nights, the engines of aggregate barges wafted over the sleeping town; fishing smacks came out of trade and were restored to sail usually without engines; and the river was a weekend charter destination for engineless Thames barges whose names went in an exercise book; retired yacht hands and fishermen watched activities on the town hard wearing jerseys bearing the names of prewar yachts like Britannia and White Heather. The sea still dominated life in all sorts of ways; the shipyard whistle meant you needed to run for the school bus. Fascinated by the utility of sailing smacks, he found a hobby in sailing them, culminating many years later in rebuilding the Sallie, and crewing in barges. During his first career in the manufacturing industry, he felt the cold wind of change that cut through the nation’s industrial base in the 1980s and recommends seeing a blast furnace tapping while you can. In 1994, Richard turned his hobby into a profession as a bargeman, and in 2007, with his partner Hilary set up the Sea-Change Sailing Trust, using hired vessels to develop its sail training while appealing for funds to build the Blue Mermaid. She was built in the UK and commissioned in 2019 and sails with around 200 people each year. She is a replica of the original built at Mistley in 1930 and lost in 1941 to a mine. She has a load line for cargo, an open hold with demountable fittings, and no engine.