Large numbers of smacks operated in fleets from ports in the UK such as Brixham, Grimsby and Lowestoft as well as at locations along the Thames Estuary.
This gave the sails its distinctive red ochre colour, which made them a picturesque sight in large numbers.
During this action the Nelson was sunk and its skipper, Thomas Crisp, was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross.
Built in Lowestoft in 1921, she is a member of the National Historic Fleet and operates as a sail training vessel.
[4] The last working Class One East Coast Smack, Britannia, built in King's Lynn in 1914 and currently undergoing a restoration in Devon, was scheduled to be relaunched in April 2022 though that has been delayed.