"Excelsior" is officially one of the 60 most important historic ships in Britain. Now lovingly restored to her original 1921 condition, she provides adventure and excitement at sea for groups and individuals from all walks of life. Each year she takes hundreds of people to sea, sailing about 7,000 miles around the western seaboard of Europe and participating in major maritime events such as the Tall Ships Race.
She carries young people in school groups for curriculum enhancement weeks, as part of Duke Of Edinburgh's Award scheme residential opportunities and Navy Sections of the Combined Cadet Force. Sailing Clubs charter her to give their members experience of handling larger vessels and she offers sea time for RYA Competent Crew experience for all ages.
Youth development is particularly popular and is carried out by schools and charities who do a yacht charter for several days to a week. One Norfolk charity, The Benjamin Foundation, has found that a five night charter for young people in their care is as effective as 6 to 7 weeks in the hostel environment. The Trust works closely with school staff to provide schools courses that fit many aspects of the curriculum.
Excelsior is an official opportunity for DofE Gold Award Residential Experience, and we work closely with schools so that crew members from mixed backgrounds are brought together to learn to sail as a residential team.
Similarly, Royal Navy sections of Combined Cadet Forces, Sea Cadets, Marine Cadets and Sea Scouts can hone their skills whilst getting experience of handling a much larger sailing vessel than they will have experienced.
Business Management Training companies use Excelsior as part of their management development programmes to build and develop dynamic teams for their clients. Team building generates motivation and communication skills that form part of continuous improvement programmes for mission critical business development issues.
Whatever your background or skills, we invite you to join us in sailing our fine ship, and in exploring and learning from the past, present and future of the East Coast maritime tradition.
