Great Yarmouth Maritime Festival 2014

Dutch three-masted schooner, the Tall Ship Minerva will star at the 15th Great Yarmouth Maritime Festival, which takes place on South Quay on Saturday 6 September (10am to 6pm) and Sunday 7 September (10am to 5pm). The festival, organised by Greater Yarmouth Tourist Authority, celebrates the town’s proud maritime past and maritime future with visiting ships, live shanty music, street entertainment, arts, crafts and children’s activities.

The Minerva will be offering five passenger sailing trips between Thursday 4 and Sunday 7 September.  Booking for sailing trips opens on Friday 13 June from the e-shop at www.maritime-festival.co.uk. Tickets can also be purchased at Great Yarmouth Tourist Information Centre t. 01493 332200.

Minerva Sailings

Thursday 4 September 1pm, ticket £33

Thursday 4 September 6pm, ticket £33

Friday 5 September 6pm, ticket £36

Saturday 6 September 6.30pm, ticket £39

Sunday 7 September 7pm, ticket £39

Sailing duration depends on the tide, but will last from 2½ to 3½ hours.

The Minerva was built in 1935 in Germany as a steel sailing cargo vessel with an auxiliary engine. Her first name was Uwe Ursula and she and her four sister ships were among the last sailing cargo ships to be built.  Based at Hamburg she worked the coastal waters of North West Europe until the mid 1980s. Her masts were removed in the 1960s and a new more powerful engine installed to make her more competitive.

Rescued by a Dutch enthusiast in 1987, she was restored as a sailing vessel at the Minerva Shipyard in Amsterdam. She was the last ship to be converted at the yard and was renamed Minerva in its honour. The ship had another refit in 2010 and more recently, the main engine was overhauled for the 2014 season. The Minerva is based at Scheveningen.

Aileen Mobbs, Festival Chairman and GYTA Honorary President said: “We are very pleased to have secured Tall Ship Minerva as the ‘flagship’ for our 15th Maritime Festival. The three-masted Minerva will provide a superb opportunity for both local residents and visitors to Great Yarmouth to experience the thrill of a tall ship under sail.”

The GYTA (Greater Yarmouth Tourist Authority) is a unique public / private sector partnership, founded in 1994. It brings together all partners from both the public and private sector to ensure that together we can collectively provide a better resort to help businesses survive and flourish and ensure that jobs are created and sustained.

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Sprake and Tyrrell Builders, Bungay