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DISCOVER Living Heritage With Excelsior

Excelsior LT472 is one of the UK’s oldest working vessels — a century-old Lowestoft fishing smack that has changed the lives of over 11,000 people through hands-on sailing experiences since 1983.

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DISCOVER OUR WORK

The Excelsior Trust is a charitable organisation that provides life changing sailing experiences for young and disadvantaged people, schools and corporate groups as well as unique sailing opportunities for individuals, all while preserving and maintaining some of the UK’s most historic ships. Our mission is to not only preserve LT472 Excelsior but also to restore other historic vessels of national importance.

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CITY OF EDINBORO - The remarkable story of a Hull sailing Trawler

by Peter J Norton

This well produced hardback brings to light the lucky survival of the last remaining

Hull smack.

Hull had become the largest sailing fishing port in Britain because of its proximity to

the rich North Sea fishing grounds, and because the railways were able to speedily

transport fresh fish to burgeoning Victorian industrial towns. This combination

brought considerable wealth to Hull, so boat owners were able to afford the very best

in new construction.

The CITY OF EDINBORO of 1884 was built to Lloyds + 10 A1 and salted. This

quality of construction is described and must be one of the factors behind her

incredible survival having fished the ferocious North Sea and North Atlantic

commercially for 97 years – and with her planking held in place with wooden

treenails!

Don’t let the word smack put you off! A smack is any sailing fishing vessel that takes

demersal (bottom living) fish and shellfish. The Humber was convenient to the

middle grounds of the North Sea, like the Dogger Bank. Large vessels were needed

to work so far offshore, and today CITY OF EDINBORO is the largest surviving

British smack. The fact that her full construction and fit-out details survive makes her

a vessel of significant historic interest.

This carefully researched 114-page book also includes details of her ownership and

history throughout her long life, made very readable by its author mining engineer Dr

Norton who is obviously used to writing clear reports! He is kindly donating the

proceeds of the sale of this book to the Excelsior Trust who are the current guardians

of CITY OF EDINBORO.

John Wylson
The Excelsior Trust

Harbour Road

Oiulton Broad

Lowestoft

Suffolk NR32 3LY

Make sure you include your telephone number with any orders. The cover price is

£15 and please add £6 for the postage and packing.

The Excelsior Trust is dedicated to giving young people traditional sailing experience

in our authentically restored Lowestoft smack, EXCELSIOR. Please feel free to top

up your payment to support us!

“Aboard Excelsior, you don’t just sail — you discover the strength within you, the power of teamwork, and the awesome nature of the sea.”

"Fantastic Experience"

Visit Excelsior

Whenever we are in Lowestoft you can normally find Excelsior at Lowestoft’s Heritage Quay and if crew are on hand we will gladly show you around. You can book a Heritage Sailing Day and take a hand at sailing this historic wooden ship. See our 2026 Schedule for details of Experience Days and Voyages.

If you have a group or organisation who would like to sail for a day, email us at sailing@excelsiortrust.co.uk to find out more. Bursaries and support available for qualifying groups.

2026 Schedule Track Excelsior Live

LATEST NEWS...

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COMING UP

Our plans for 2026 include taking part in the Tall Ships Race in the Channel and North Sea from July, but prior to that we have an exciting programme of adventures and sail training trips to develop skills for the novice and the seasoned sailors.

Our voyages will be available to schools and youth organisations, Duke of Edinburgh’s Award participants and there will also be opportunities for individuals to sail on stretches too! Please contact us for more information.

Check our Programme

Harbouring Potential

'Harbouring Potential' is our exciting maritime industries recruitment community development project. We aim to bring local young and unemployed people together with the principle marine employers in the area, to raise awareness and reinvigorate enthusiasm for the employment opportunities all these companies represent. We recognise that locally there is both a high unemployment rate and a high staff shortage in the maritime sector. We are working with our marine industry partners to offer young people in the region the opportunity to voyage aboard Excelsior and learn about the varied roles open to them.

Since her commissioning by HRH the Princess Royal in 1988, Excelsior has touched over 11,000 trainees, many of whom have returned decades later to reminisce about the impact the boat has had on them. Inspired by their introduction to life at sea, a number of her former trainees and volunteers have gone on to forge careers in the marine industry (both in sail training and the commercial sector).

Through this initiative, we take young and unemployed people out to sea, demonstrating how the maritime industry is vast and diverse and can offer a range of job opportunities for people with different skill sets and education levels. Participants experience first-hand life on board, inspired by fun, hard work and stories of work at sea. This is an important step in understanding whether this career is right for you.

In collaboration with Njord Offshore, North Star Shipping, Safety Boat Services, Caudwell Marine, Associated British Ports and HM Coastguard, a pilot project was launched in September 2023.

"As an employer of over 150 seafarers, Njord Offshore was honoured to receive an invitation to The Excelsior Trust's 'Harbouring Potential' event. Hearing the infectious enthusiasm of all the participants as they recounted their experiences was truly inspiring. We have every confidence that this event will not only remain a cherished and unforgettable memory for them all but may also mark the beginning of a more extended journey into the maritime world where future jobs await as the offshore renewable sector continues to grow."

Tom Mehew, Managing Director, Njord Offshore

Many Lowestoft residents are descended from former fishermen and have a direct connection to the town’s past major industry (many left unemployed since its decline). With our project, we aim to use Lowestoft’s own piece of working history (one of the last remnents of the former fishing industry) to inspire a sense of pride in our own maritime heritage, and get people excited about following in the footsteps of past generations to consider a career at sea.

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