Norfolk Boat News

It’s always a pleasure to read the voyage reports that come in after a group of sailors returns, especially if it has been the first time out on the water for these young people. What was particularly noticeable in the comments that came back from the young people who sailed with a group from the…

Some of the sailors that we financially support are lucky enough to embark on a voyage on The Blue Mermaid with Sea-Change Sailing Trust based in Maldon, Essex. These voyages are undertaken on this traditional Thames sailing barge and usually takes our sailors up and down the waters of the Thames estuary. It’s always wonderful…

We were thrilled to fund a group from North Walsham High School to sail with The Cirdan Trust in July. The hot weather was a double edged sword, balmy summer evenings but a lack of wind which meant that the engine had to be fired up. All of which gave the group a wide reaching…

We recently funded a voyage for a group of  students from East Norfolk Sixth Form College to sail across to Belgium and The Netherlands and back to Lowestoft. As you can see in the wonderful voyage report below it achieved everything that we hope will be achieved when we award a grant. As we always…

“If (the sea) takes me away from all the stresses and strains of life.It’s got the power of calmness.” Dave Phillips, Turn to Starboard Charity Wonderful article in The Guardian explaining how exposure to oceans, rivers and lakes “can be medicine for the brain” and how more charities are recognising and utilising the benefits of…

Wonderful photos here from one of our first voyages of the year. A group of 7 young people from YMCA Trinity sailed on board Cirdan Trust’s Queen Galadriel from North Fambridge in Essex to Brightlingsea, Bradwell-on-Sea and along the River Roach. As it was April, they had a mixed bag on the weather front with…

How lovely to see this wonderful feature on us in the April edition of The Norfolk Magazine, Emma Lee’s article highlights both the history of The Norfolk Boat and the work that it is still achieving nearly 50 years on : “Anthony, chair of the organisation, and the rest of team have seen time and…

As we start a new year, let’s look back at this wonderful report from the East Coast Sea Cadets, our last group of the year in 2025, sailing in October and November on the North Sea – not for the faint hearted! During the 2025 October half term 26 Sea Cadets aged 11 to 17…

14 year old Erin Hudson Brown from Wells next the Sea is our 2025 winner of The Cuthbert Award, here she is receiving her prize of £1,000 of sailing vouchers from our founder Andrew Cuthbert MBE. Erin sailed on Excelsior with a group from Alderman Peel High School in June. On her voyage to Holland…

Here’s a wonderful thank you from a new group to receive funding from us this year: Dear Team at The Norfolk Boat, I am writing to you express our sincere appreciation for the grant from the Voyage of Discovery Fund. The sailing trip was an incredible opportunity and had a profound impact on all the…

Voyage report from Eleanor Kerr, who was awarded a £500 grant to sail with Excelsior Trust in The Tall Ships Race in July 2025 I am very grateful to have received support from the Norfolk Boat bursary to sail on Excelsior this summer during the Tall Ships Races 2025. I thoroughly enjoyed sailing on Excelsior,…

Nothing sums up our work better than the testimony of the young sailors themselves, this wonderful group from MAP in Norwich sailed across to the Isle of Wight with the help of our financial support in April. Without further ado, I’ll let them speak for themselves:

By Daisy Keddie, Norfolk Boat grant recipient February 2025 Foreword This was my fourth trip with The Cirdan Sailing Trust. Yet again, I have left with a heap load of great memories, some great new friends, and a greater love of seafaring. The trust and their team do a brilliant job at giving young people…

A wonderful interview with our Chair, Anthony Hunt, explaining why he’s so passionate to raise more funds for The Norfolk Boat and send more youngsters out onto the water: Read the full article at the website of Jamieson Property Search.

Report Excelsior 2024Break – Voyage from Helsinki (Finland) to Talinn (Estonia)5-13 July 2024 For this trip we had two care leavers and two young people from our residential homes, accompanied by their carers, as well as an extra staff member from the Aspiration team, to support the young people and act as a point of…