Excelsior

This one?
Excelsior.jpg
 
My favourite old boat.

When you stand on her deck, the massive dimensions of her gear really strike you. She makes a Thames barge look almost puny.

The bowsprit is held on the heelrope - no fid used.
 
hi, i had the pleasure of sailing Keewaydin, alongside her while at brest 04. i managed some great photos of the 2 sisters together for the first time in 25/30 years.
m byrne
 
There are still a few Lowestoft trawlers about - most were sold to Scandinavia in the mid 1930s. Excelsior is the only UK trawler that can still fish. Her trawl was produced for a Channel 4 TV programme. She's 'core listed' as one of some fifty vessels of national significance. Around 100 tons of oak ensured she could withstand February North Sea gales. One of her previous skippers advised he'd been caught out in a Force 11. A very stable and safe platform for a sail training ship! OF
 
A recent skipper, possibly the current one, drew praise from the RNLI for his handling of Excelsior when he'd lost the rudder, or use of it. They were in the sort of wind we wouldn't venture out in (9+?) and he balanced the rig, roaring along at high speed and fully under control. So fast did he go that the first lifeboat launched to assist (Wells?) was turned back, and they launched the next one along the coast, presumably Cromer. This is my possibly inaccurate recollection of a brief account 4 or 5 years ago in the yachting press.

The crew are always very friendly and sociable, and its wonderful to see hordes of kids aboard when she's working in my home waters (the Orwell area).

Bill
 
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