Features

Gloucester could be the last port of call for a historic vessel featured at the city's first ever Tall Ships Festival.

The Kathleen and May could be making her last public appearance in the UK before being sold abroad when she joins four other vessels to sail up the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal to the four-day festival, which starts on Friday October 26.

Alongside the tall ships in the Docks, a range of quayside events and attractions will give visitors, families and city residents a glimpse of how Gloucester might have looked and sounded over 100 years ago. 

The Kathleen and May is Britain's last remaining wooden triple-mast trading schooner. Having spent more than £2 million restoring the derelict ship to her former glory, owner Steve Clarke is putting her up for sale after his bid for Heritage Lottery funding to protect her future was rejected.  The Kathleen and May is now on the market for nearly £3.5 million and it is thought that the eventual buyer is most likely to come from overseas, possibly America, although recent enquiries to purchase her have also been received from Ireland.

An organisation called The Friends of Kathleen and May has been formed to take up the challenge to save her for the nation by launching an appeal to the Secretary of State to buy her and keep her in her home port of Bideford.  

Representatives of The Friends of Kathleen and May will be on board in Gloucester, campaigning to keep the ship in this country and asking all visitors to sign their petition.

Other vessels sailing in for the festival celebrating Gloucester's long maritime heritage are:

• The Ruth: A Baltic trader built in 1914 - a traditional gaff-rigged ketch
• The Earl of Pembroke: Built in Sweden in 1948 she has been restored in the form of a three-masted 19th century wooden barque and is a screen star with appearances in the 'Hornblower' TV series as well as 'Treasure Island' and 'Longitude'.
• The Phoenix: Built as an evangelical mission schooner in Denmark in 1929 she is currently rigged as a two-masted brig and has also appeared on screen in 'Hornblower' and 'Amazing Grace', the recent film about anti-slavery campaigner William Wilberforce.
• The Johanna Lucretia: Rigged as a topsail schooner she was built in Ghent,  Belgium in 1945.

Saturday evening will see a lighting show of the ships sails and rigging which will accompany live music on The Docks.

A more sedate blend of entertainment on Sunday October 28 includes craft workshops and opportunities for artists to paint, photograph or draw the Tall Ships - with masterclasses on offer for those who want to brush up on their technique. Tickets are required for the masterclasses - call 01452 503050 for details. There will also be a nautical Songs of Praise in the dockside Mariners' Chapel at 10.30am.

The ships will sail out of the Docks again in a Parade of Sail on Monday October 29th.

Gloucester City Council leader Paul James said: "Gloucester is a city with amazing potential and the Docks is one of our greatest assets. This event will showcase what we have to offer while at the same time celebrating our rich history. The combination of the two will make this a truly spectacular and memorable event."

The festival is being organised by Gloucester Heritage Urban Regeneration Company with Gloucester City Council, with funding from the South West of England Regional Development Agency as part of its programme of support for local tourist and retail industries affected by flooding earlier this summer.