Museums' Exhibitions
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Historical Fishing Vessels
Index
- Introduction
- EXCELSIOR LT472 (current page)
- ESTRALITA RX8
- CITY OF EDINBORO H1394
Introduction
East Anglia has a diverse collection of historical fishing vessels ranging from the little 19th century Yarmouth shrimper CORONATION YH671, to MINCARLO LT412 which was the last diesel 'sidewinder' trawler to be built entirely in Lowstoft in 1961.
Some vessels, such as the Lowestoft Smack EXCELSIOR LT472 and the Yarmouth Steam drifter LYDIA EVA YH86 have been nationally recognised and are included in National Historic Ships Core List of vessels of outstanding national importance.
Other resident vessels such as the CITY OF EDINBORO H1394 of 1884 or ESTRALITA RX8 of 1948 do not relate to area's history, but nontheless are very interersting in their own right.
Historical Fishing Vessels
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EXCELSIOR LT472
The Lowestoft smack EXCELSIOR was built by John Chambers of Lowestoft in 1921. A 77 ft. long sailing trawler with a crew of four men and a boy, she joined a fleet of around 200 similar vessels that fished the southern North Sea mainly for plaice.
Laid up in 1933 and a couple of years later sold to Norway where, like many of her contemporaries, she was converted to a motor coaster. When her owners retired in 1971 she was bought back to England for the long-drawn-out task of converting her back to her 'as built' appearance. This was completed by The Excelsior Trust in 1988 when she was re-commissioned as a sail training vessel by HRH The Princess Royal.
The following Spring, as a proving voyage, she set off on a non-stop trip around the mainland of Britain but, because of persistent head winds, had to take a short-cut through the Caledonian Canal in order to be able to enter that year's Cutty Sark Tall Ships Race (see photo).
Since then EXCELSIOR has sailed the equivalent of more than three times around the World taking c. 600 young people a year to sea. She has been north almost as far as the Artic Circle, south to Portugal, and east to St. Petersburg, attending maritime events throughout the western seaboard of Europe.
In 2000 she trawled again under sail as the star of Fish and Ships, one of the Channel 4's Real History Show series. The authenticity of her restoration was recognised by her inclusion in the National Maritime Museum's Core List of historic vessels of outstanding historical or technical significance.
Today, working with the Cirdan Sailing Trust she is part of the largest sail training fleet in the UK taking all sorts of young people to sea (see www.cirdansailing.com). Adults can also take a step back in time and experience sailing a Lowestoft smack - without the back-breaking toil of fishing (see www.excelsiortrust.co.uk)!
If you do not see her distinctive tan sails as she plies her trade up and down the East Coast, you can visit her on an Open Day when on display at Lowestoft's historical ships' berth or in Ipswich Wet Dock. (See www.excelsiortrust.co.uk for details)
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Theme: Fishing
Exhibition: Historical Fishing Vessels
CONCRETIAN on the slip.
CONCRETIAN on the slip at the Excelsior Yard, Lowestoft, in 2005 having been sunk for 55 years.
WILLIAM McCANN, formerly CITY OF EDINBORO
CITY OF EDINBORO as the charter vessel WILLIAM McCANN after her return to the British flag
CITY OF EDINBORO on the slip
CITY OF EDINBORO on the slip at the Excelsior Yard. The man is 6 ft. tall which illustrates her great size. She has a typical Victorian counter stern.
ESTRALITA proposed appearence
An elevation and sail plan of ESTRALITA RX8 showing her rig as built, and how she will appear when completed.
EXCELSIOR under full sail
EXCELSIOR under full sail consisting of Jib, Jib topsail, Foresail (smacksman term), Mainsail, Main topsail, Mizzen sail, Mizzen Topsail.
Henry Blogg
black and white photograph of Cromer coxswain Henry Blogg with the Prince of Wales at a presentation ceremony in the Central Hall, Westminster, London