A historic boat is due to go on a sailing tour from Lowestoft.

Excelsior will be departing from Lowestoft on May 4 for the 2024 sailing season.

The fishing smack has a busy itinerary across Scotland, the Orkneys, Shetlands, Faroes, Lithuania, Finland, Scandinavia and Poland.

Lowestoft Town Council and the Excelsior Trust have partnered to enable more youths to sail on the traditional trawler.

This initiative will be funded via bursaries and aims to attract participants for both short and long trips.

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The town council has commissioned a unique Lowestoft pennant for Excelsior to present in foreign ports.

Excelsior's annual programme stretches beyond sailing, even including an artists' residency spanning from Orkney to the Faroe Islands, Shetland and collaborating with the Great Yarmouth-based Utter Nonsense Project.

An Excelsior Trust spokesperson said: “The support of the council in this exciting year for us is hugely appreciated.

"Excelsior will be a roving maritime ambassador for Lowestoft and we are proud to carry the flag of our home port.”

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Presenting the pennant to Excelsior skipper Charlotte Hathaway the town mayor, Cllr Sonia Barker said: “I am delighted to be able to present this pennant on behalf of the people of Lowestoft as we give an official send off to the Excelsior.

"As a recipient of the Freedom of the Town in 2021 and as our international ambassador, I am excited to hear about the experiences that local young people will have the opportunity to participate in thanks to this growing partnership between Lowestoft Town Council and the Excelsior Trust.”

For those curious to monitor the progress of Excelsior, a tracker is available as part of the Tall Ships Race from June 27 to August 5 at theexcelsiortrust.co.uk.