Alasdair Mackenzie – Chair
My father bought Edith CK375 when I was 5 and I have been hooked ever since. I owned William MN 15 for a long time and now have a ‘miniature smack’, an 18′ bumkin, that I can race, cruise and practice trawling and dredging. I’ve been a member of the Society for 30 years and am one of the Trustees.
Tom Curtis – Dockmaster
Tom has been sailing on the East Coast since he was 6 months old. He has sailed on bawleys, smacks and barges and is now the proud owner of Lilian and Fairy, both currently under restoration. Tom is our youngest member of our committee and a valuable asset to the team.
Sue Last – Treasurer
Sue moved to Brightlingsea in 1968, and raced sailing dinghies for many years, moving into cruisers as my joints failed. I was involved with the smacks and barges for many years with sending out the invitations for the Colne Match and spent many happy days in Bateman’s Tower with Brian Percival starting it! I also had the pleasure one year of being on a smack on the Sunday after the Match.
Paul Winter – Secretary
Paul sails his beautiful engineless Harris smack Maria CK21 around the East Coast picking up prizes wherever he goes. With a keen eye for detail, Paul runs the very successful Colne Smack and Barge Race each year and helps run the CSPS alongside the team. Maria is the only smack which continues the tradition of stowboating throughout the winter months.
Martyn Bradfield
Martyn is a huge smack enthusiast and when he’s not working on the barges up the Colne and beyond, he helps the CSPS out whenever he can. As a teenager he has sailed on a few smacks even worked on them dredging in the school holidays! He has also enjoyed a summer on 3- masted topsail schooner.
Max Gladley
Max started sailing at school and has owned boats since the age of 19. He owned a smack yacht named Theme in the 70s and then the smack Mary plus two Brightlingsea one designs amongst various other boats. He has been a CSPS member since its inception and is a very keen supporter of our heritage and looking after smacks and barges.
Andy Harman
Andy sails his majestic engineless Thames Barge Edme and is hugely successful on the racing scene. Despite having a huge work list each year on the barge, he kindly spends his spare time on the CSPS committee to ensure it stays on course.
Stephen Nesbitt
Stephen is a regular sailor with the Brightlingsea Sailing Club sailing his GRP and wooden Solo. He has a keen interest in design and is a regular visitor at the smackdock, he has kindly volunteered lending a hand when ever needed on the smacks. He will be a fantastic asset to our committee.