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"The Kathleen & May leaving Appledore" (Photograph taken by Lol Smith July 2002)
The Kathleen & May
The sailing schooner Kathleen and May was built on the Dee estuary near Chester and became the last merchant schooner to be registered with a home port in the UK to earn her living at sea carrying cargoes.
Originally named the Lizzie May, she was sold for service in Ireland and renamed the Kathleen and May.
In 1931 she was sold again and based in Appledore in Devon.
In 1960 she was retired from service.
She was discovered by HRH The Duke of Edinburgh laid up on the River Torridge.
The Maritime Trust was set up to save her and she was displayed firstly in Plymouth but later in St Katherine’s Dock London.
By 1998 she was laid up in Gloucester Docks. In 1998 she was towed to Bideford in Devon for restoration to operational condition.
In 2001 she was re-launched, after restoration, by HRH The Duke of Edinburgh.
In August she made her first sailing trip to Lundy Island and returned to Ireland to attend a maritime festival where she was based for 28 years.
Today the Kathleen and May is restored and visits and cruises around the country.
Hopefully she will continue to be based in Bideford in North Devon and enjoy a long life bringing pleasure to people for many years to come.
"The Kathleen and May passing Instow" (Photograph taken by Lol Smith May 2001)
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