From the Caribbean to the East Coast

Charlotte Hathaway is Skipper of the Lowestoft fishing smack Excelsior – the first woman to have the full-time role for the sail training organisation. Here, she explains her sailing journey has taken her all the way from the Caribbean to the East Coast

Who are you and what do you do?

I’m Charlotte Hathaway, Skipper of the 1921 Lowestoft fishing smack Excelsior. We’re a sail training vessel and working museum ship – we’re authentically rigged and operated as they would have done over 100 years ago. Excelsior is the only authentically surviving representative of the original fishing fleet that worked out of Lowestoft until the 1930s, and she is still based in her home port. In short: we preserve history whilst changing the lives of young people at sea. (But not just young people, we work with a whole set of different people including collaborating on an Artists residency and offering exciting group charters for adults.) I am responsible for the management of the ship during the sailing season, including leading the crew on our various voyages, and taking ultimate responsibility for what happens on board. In the winter I work to get as many people sailing with us as possible.

What has led you to Lowestoft and becoming Skipper of the Excelsior?

Pure chance. It was after the pandemic; I’d just passed my Yachtmaster (professional qualification to skipper smaller boats) and I was scouting around for jobs. For context, I’d previously worked in traditional music in Scotland before I’d moved to the Caribbean some years previously and started sailing. I was fully planning to find another job abroad (probably back in the Caribbean), but something grabbed me when I saw the position of 1st Mate advertised for this unusual sail training boat in a place I’d never heard of. I’d never even considered the concept of sail training before, but when I realised what it entailed, it made perfect sense to me. What I missed most about my previous career was the youth work, and a historic ship like Excelsior also brought in the heritage aspect that I’d got from trad music. I applied on the off-chance and found myself uprooting my life to Lowestoft less than a week later. After a season as 1st Mate, they trained me up to be Skipper, and here I am – the first woman to have the full-time role.

What links do you have to this part of the region?

I didn’t realise I had any links in the region until I got the job on Excelsior and found out that this is the mysterious place in the East my uncle, aunt and a bunch of cousins live (Beccles, Lowestoft, and surrounding areas). It was so nice to move to a new place and find out I already had family here.

When did your love of sailing begin and where in the world has it taken you?

I always loved the concept of boats, from a very young age. But apart from one trip, I never really got the chance to get involved with sailing when I was a child. I grew up with the weird belief that sailing was something you only got to do if you were born into the correct sort of sailing family. I had no idea where to find the kind of opportunities we offer young people aboard Excelsior. When I was older, I then believed the only way I would get to do boats was if I found a man who already boated.

Then when I was 30, I realised I was being a really rubbish feminist so when I moved to the Caribbean for an abrupt career break in 2016, I bought my own boat and learned to do it by myself. I sailed single handed around the Lesser Antilles, and eventually to Antigua on a sort of pilgrimage to see where my grandmother had grown up (that’s another story!). I crossed the Atlantic twice and ended up in Iceland to work on another boat during the pandemic while I prepared for my Yachtmaster exam.

For those not in the know, what does the Excelsior Trust do, as a sail training charity? How does it benefit the local community and disadvantaged youngsters?

The goal of sail training is to change lives at sea. We’re not specifically aiming to teach someone how to sail, we’re more teaching them about resilience, teamwork, leadership, and gaining self-belief and self-confidence. It’s genuinely amazing how you see a person change from the start of a trip to the end of one. They discover a strength in themselves they never knew they had and understand what it’s like to be genuinely needed in a team. Because of this, it’s our mission to offer this opportunity to people who would never have considered going out on a boat, because it’s often those people who will benefit most from it. We work with schools and local charities but are also open to anyone who’s interested to get involved. The hardest part is giving someone the confidence to take the plunge and come along. That’s where partner youth groups and schools come in, because they do a lot to support the less confident. We spend a lot of time looking for funding for bursaries to make sure there’s no financial barrier, and young people can come and volunteer at the yard or the boat to help ‘pay’ for their trip. This is a really good way for them to become part of the family before they come along, and to already feel comfortable with the boat. We also have a scheme called ‘Harbouring Potential’ which helps young people discover the possibilities of maritime-related careers, in partnership with local businesses, and a bursary scheme (open to donations) to help pay for travel expenses.

Where is the Yard located and how are the plans to bring it back to its former glory coming along?

The Yard is off Lake Lothing in Oulton Broad at the end of Harbour Road. Things are coming along really well – we have a well-occupied set of moorings, two slipways where we can slip more awkward larger boats, and a tent full of historic boat restoration projects. There are workshops for metalwork, woodworking, a fitter’s shop and a renovated static classroom. We offer work experience for young people and volunteering opportunities for anyone who wants to be involved, for example people who are unemployed and want to get more experience, or retired people looking to share their skills and find a friendly community.

How far did the Excelsior go in the 2024 season?

The 2024 season was a very ambitious project for me and the team. We took a departure from our normal pattern of trips between Lowestoft and Belgium/Netherlands, and voyaged up north towards the Faroe Islands, then across to Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and spent five weeks in the Baltic for the Tall Ships Races where we visited Lithuania, Latvia, Finland, Estonia and Poland. After that it was back to Lowestoft via Germany and the Kiel Canal, and the Netherlands.

Did the work of the Trust garner an award recently?

I was so honoured and taken aback to be presented with the Sultan Qaboos Trophy on behalf of the Excelsior Trust at the Sail Training International Awards this November. It’s the most prestigious award of the night and presented by the Navy of Oman to the individual or organisation who has made an outstanding contribution to sail training and youth. Excelsior was the first UK sail training organisation to receive this and was recognised for its 35 years of work in this area, and the impactful projects we have run over the years, reaching over 11,000 trainees. I felt hugely emotional to have been part of the team to bring Excelsior Trust to this place.

What plans are in place for the 2025 season?

We have a really exciting set of trips planned already (although there is room for more and we are on the lookout for more schools or youth groups to work with, or individuals who would like to charter the boat). In May we’ll be sailing to Ostend in Belgium for the Ostend at Anchor Maritime festival. We’re also taking part in the Tall Ships Races from Le Havre to Dunkirk to Aberdeen to Kristiansand to Esbjerg, and we still have spaces for young people who want to take part (eligible for Gold DofE residential). We have a three-week artists residency around Denmark and Norway, currently open for applications from artists of varying disciplines, as well as young innovators aged 18-24 (they don’t need to be artists, they can be interested in anything). After that we’re taking part in the Limfjorden Rundt, which is a racing series for traditional boats round the Limfjord in Denmark. Then we are doing a seamanship training voyage from Denmark back to Lowestoft in September. All these have spaces on, and young people or adults can join. If people aren’t sure yet if they can handle a longer trip, we have a series of taster day sails and overnighters in April and May. I’m exhausted just thinking about it all!

Visit theexcelsiortrust.co.uk. For the residency go to theexcelsiortrust.co.uk/north-atlantic-islands-residency-2025 – the deadlines are February 16 for artists and March 2 for young innovators. Contact The Excelsior Trust to volunteer or donate. Follow on Facebook, Instagram and Charlotte’s blog.

Featured images supplied by The Excelsior Trust.