Keep the Kathleen-May a wooden three-masted trading schooner in the UK
A Biddeford (Devon, UK) boat has become the subject of an online petition to the Prime Minister.
The Friends of the Kathleen and May have launched the petition after the recent news that the historic boat is up for sale
The boat being put up for sale has raised concerns it may move out of British waters.
The wooden three-masted trading schooner, which is moored in Biddeford, is up for sale at a guide price of about £3.5 million.
The friends are asking Gordon Brown to help to save the historic boat, which is attracting interest from investors as far as the Caribbean and the US.
The online petition says: "The Kathleen and May is an integral part of Biddeford’s maritime history and as such she deserves to be saved for the nation.
"She was the last of the trading, sailing ships plying her trade until the 1960s. HRH the Duke of Edinburgh, a long time friend of the ship, together with the Maritime Trust, support the overwhelming benefits of retaining the Kathleen and May as part of our national maritime heritage in Biddeford."
For the past 10 years the friends, a group of volunteers, have helped to maintain the vessel.
Ship owner Steve Clarke put the vessel up for sale after failing to secure funding to support her. He has said he would be devastated to see her taken abroad.It would be a shame to lose her-I have been aboard her and she is beautiful, please if you can sign the petition (you must be a UK citizen/resident). ask your friends to signn it too! if you cant sign for some reason, no hard felings.
Please use the link in brackets for the petition-the other ones don’t work!
([url]
http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/Kathleen-May ... thleen-may [/url])
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Thanks
Sheba
