Official No. 127276, 85 ton. Built of wood at Rochester in 1923 by Short Bros. 90.3×21.4×7.3

Lady Daphne was commissioned in 1921 to be built by Short Bros on behalf of David and Stanley. When the barge was launched in 1923, David named it after his newly born first child, Daphne.

The Lady Daphne transferred to Lillian Bradley on the death of her husband David in 1928. Lillian sold Lady Daphne to R&W Paul, the maltsters, in 1937.

Lady Daphne was with the maltsters till her sale to Taylor Woodrow and St Katharine’s Yacht Haven in 1973. Lady Daphne was sold to Elisabeth and Michael Mainelli in 1996.

Lady Daphne was known as the “lucky Lady Daphne” for an extraordinary incident. On Boxing Day 1927 the skipper was washed overboard and two crew abandoned her off the Cornish coast, but Lady Daphne, guided by the skipper’s canary, sailed herself through the rocks of the Scilly Isles onto a few tens of yards of safe sand.

She was recently sold by the Mainellis and has been extensively rebuilt by Tim Goldsack for owners Andy and Sam Taylor at his yard in Oare Creek. Updates and latest news can be found by following their facebook page – /s.b.ladydaphne