04/12/2012 00:00
TW
0

Palma.—The tall ships Tenacious and Lord Nelson are both owned by The Jubilee Sailing Trust which was the inspiration of Christopher Rudd, a schoolteacher who sought to address the lack of sailing opportunities for disabled people.

The JST's ethos is twofold: to offer the opportunity and challenge of tall ship sailing to disabled people, and challenge perceptions and preconceptions of disability among the able-bodied.

As a registered charity, the JST owns and operates the tall ships Lord Nelson and Tenacious.
They are the only vessels in the world specifically designed and built to enable people of all physical abilities to sail side by side as equals, sharing the challenges and fun of life on board.

Tenacious is going to be moored in Majorca between 29 December and 19 January and the JST said that it would be great if people could come and say hello when she is Palma.

There are still voyage spaces available, at a special discount rate, should any one wish to see in 2013 from the deck of a three masted tall ship. The Jubilee Sailing Trust became a registered charity in 1978 and a chance meeting between Rudd and Dr Tony Hicklin a consultant rheumatologist and specialist in rehabilitation, cemented the idea further. Soon early trials were underway with the barque Marques and the brig Royalist followed by more extensive trials with the brigantine Soren Larsen.

Before long, although voyages were successful, it was clear that the adaptations on the ships were not adequate and the charity needed to start from scratch.

In 1984 work began on Lord Nelson. Colin Mudie, the renowned naval architect had been commissioned to design a vessel that could be sailed by 40 and enable people with a range of physical disabilities to take part in the sailing of the ship as well as any able-bodied person.

In October 1986 Lord Nelson made her maiden voyage. Since then Lord Nelson has taken over 24'000 people on a voyage, of these 10'000 were physically disabled and nearly 5'000 were wheelchair users.

Then, in June 1996 the keel of Tenacious was laid by HRH The Duke of York in Woolston, Southampton. Launched in February 2000, Tenacious is the largest wooden tall ship of her kind in the world. Tenacious was built with the help of volunteers who stayed on site for “Shorewatch” holidays to complete the build. Since then Tenacious has taken nearly 12'000 people sailing of these 3'000 were physically disabled and 1'000 were wheelchair users.