Excelsior Trust

Aim

We are aiming to raise funds to keep Excelsior sailing and fill the financial hole left by coronavirus cancellations of our voyages.

What we do.

Broadening horizons at sea

In 2021 Excelsior will celebrate its 100th anniversary. For more than 30 years the Excelsior Trust has been providing young people with the opportunity to become part of the crew aboard our historic sailing vessel. Many of the young people who come aboard come from disadvantaged backgrounds or have personal challenges.  A voyage on Excelsior truly broadens horizons.

10,000th person

This year we were anticipating celebrating taking our 10,000th person to sea. We hope that this will still happen but with the coronavirus pandemic, our boat is ready to sail but like us all is currently self-isolating and social distancing. Schooling and education have been massively disrupted and inevitably groups of young people who had voyages planned have had to cancel.

Maintaining our Maritime Heritage

Each year we spend the winter months repairing and maintaining the boat as an historically faithful working sailing ship. Historical accuracy that has been rewarded with a place in the National Historic Fleet and good looks which have earned us sail on parts in films such as Pirates of the Caribbean. 

A season in Crisis due to Coronavirus

We rely on our summer sailing season to replenish our funds with the work we do with young people and additional fundraising voyages for adults. The coronavirus lockdown stops us from replenishing our funds and puts our future program of voyages in jeopardy. We need to raise funds now to keep the ship ready to sail, maintaining its fabric, and in doing so maintaining traditional boatbuilding skills. We in common with other small charities have found that we are not eligible for many of the government or lottery-funded financial help schemes available at the moment, so we are making a direct appeal to all of you who would like to sail on Excelsior or know people who could benefit from the experience.  

Generous Rewards for you

We know that money is tight for everybody so we are offering a huge range of rewards to suit everything from a tenner through to those with deep pockets! We are offering opportunities to meet the crew and sail on Excelsior at special advantageous rates to acknowledge your support for us at this difficult time. The rewards will be provided as soon as is practical within the prevailing public health restrictions. If not before the end of this season then we will deliver them in April and May next year.

How we will use funds raised

It costs £10,000 per month to run Excelsior. The money we raise in this campaign will help us meet our core costs allowing us to keep the ship ready to sail. We will be able to retain the skills that we need both in the short and long term,  improve the resilience of our operation,  provide online experiences to engage with our community at this difficult time and make our offering to young people even better for years to come.

Please support us.

This project successfully funded on 4th June 2020