We are sailing!

Our maritime festivities during Heritage Open Days (Saturday 12^th-Sunday 13^th September) include the opportunity to freely explore some amazing heritage vessels moored up alongside the Old Custom House.

And now the Excelsior Trust is offering IMT members and guests the chance to sail on board Excelsior, before and after the Heritage Open Days weekend!

Excelsior LT472 is one of the UK’s oldest working vessels. She’s one of the last surviving Lowestoft fishing smacks, built in 1921 to trawl the southern North Sea, and still sailing today under traditional rig. In 1988 she was commissioned as a sail training ship.

Sailing on Excelsior is no tourist trip: it’s a return to the raw, elemental life of the sea. You can take part in sailing Excelsior, guided by the crew, or sit back and watch the wildlife.

“Being on Excelsior is like living off-grid in a moving museum — you don’t just learn about history, you breathe it in.”

Ready for a day with a difference?! Excelsior will be sailing up the Orwell and possibly out to sea, depending on weather conditions, on 9^th and 10^th, and 15^th and 16^th September, from Beacon Marina, Ipswich, at 10am, returning at about 4-4.30pm. Refreshments are available all day, and include a light lunch. Bring binoculars, and wear trainers or wellies, as well as warm clothes.

To book, please follow this link Day Sails from Ipswich IMT members receive a 10% discount on the published adult price of £135.