Jubilee Sailing Trust was a charitable organisation in the United Kingdom which operated the purpose-built three-masted barques STS Lord Nelson and SV Tenacious, both specifically designed for the physically handicapped to be able to fully engage with the sailing experience.
The Jubilee Sailing Trust, based in Southampton, is a sail training charity registered with the Charity Commission. [1] Founded in 1978 with money from the Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II fund by Christopher Rudd, a keen sailor, its aims are: "To integrate both able-bodied and disabled persons through Tall Ship sailing". [2]
In early pilot schemes including voyages in the square-rigged vessels the Marques , TS Royalist and (between 1982 and 1985) Søren Larsen , it was established that square-riggers were suitable for fulfilling the Trust's aims. Subsequently the Trust commissioned the building of STS Lord Nelson (designed by Colin Mudie), which sailed on her maiden voyage from Southampton to Cherbourg on 17 October 1986, and SV Tenacious (to a design by Tony Castro), which made her maiden voyage on 1 September 2000, also from Southampton. [3]
Lord Nelson and Tenacious were pioneers in the world of tall ships. They are the only two vessels which have been designed and purpose-built to allow people of all physical abilities to sail side-by-side on equal terms. [4] There are 8 wheelchair cabins with two bunks each, with the remaining accommodation being 'dorm-style'. All beds are fixed single bunks. Both vessels are equipped with additional measures to allow for disabled people to sail, including: a speaking compass, visual and tactile alarms around the ship to supplement emergency announcements, disabled toilets, signage and diagrams in Braille, power-assisted steering for the ship's wheel, wheelchair lifts around the ship, wider passageways, and tactile markers to assist the visually impaired in finding their way around.
Each year the JST takes around 2,000 adults to sea, both able-bodied and physically disabled. Each ship can sail with up to 40 voyage crew, half of whom may be physically disabled and are guided through each task on board by eight or nine permanent crew members (professional seafarers) and three or more volunteer crew. The ships sail around the United Kingdom, Western Europe, the Canary Islands and the Caribbean.
From October 2012 to September 2014, STS Lord Nelson sailed around the world in the first JST circumnavigation, visiting 30 countries spanning all seven continents. [5] In October 2013, STS Lord Nelson participated in the International Fleet Review 2013 in Sydney, Australia.
Despite a successful business model selling spaces on their tall ship, JST also relies on funding, donations, and corporate partnerships to achieve their vision. As of 2022, JST had nine 'Champions' including: Actisense, [6] Ardent Training, [7] Classic Sailing, [8] Cruising Association, easyBoat, [9] English Braids, Hill Dickinson LLP, AH Monsen Ltd, [10] and Swig Wines. [11]
In June 2019, the JST announced an 'emergency appeal', with a week to save the charity. [12] The charity's handling of the appeal and its aftermath raised criticism from many in the sail training world. [13] Despite raising more than £1m in five days, it was announced that STS Lord Nelson would cease its sailing programme by October. There was a further planned review of organisational structures to reduce core costs, with the intent to achieve a "stronger financial footing". [14]
In early 2021, having laid alongside Bristol docks and in a state of significant disrepair, Lord Nelson was put up for sale. [15] [16] In May 2022, Peter Cardy, former CEO of the Maritime & Coastguard Agency and Sail Training International, after reviewing the recent history of the JSA and its challenges, concluded, "Without a radical change of programme, and effective marketing of a focus and quality not seen for many years, merely tinkering with the model means the maelstrom awaits yet again. Next time around there might be no other option than insolvency and administration." [17]
No sale of Lord Nelson was concluded and in August 2022, the ship's owning company, Jubilee Sailing Trust Ltd, was put into administration. [18] With still no sale, the administrators put the ship for auction in June 2023. [19]
In December 2023 it was announced that Jubilee Sailing Trust (Tenacious) Ltd could not continue and had also been put into administration, with all planned voyages cancelled and Tenacious to be sold. [20] The future of the Trust itself will be determined by the Charity Commission. [20]
A tall ship is a large, traditionally-rigged sailing vessel. Popular modern tall ship rigs include topsail schooners, brigantines, brigs and barques. "Tall ship" can also be defined more specifically by an organization, such as for a race or festival.
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Jolie Brise is a gaff-rigged pilot cutter built and launched by the Albert Paumelle Yard in Le Havre in 1913 to a design by Alexandre Pâris. After a short career as a pilot boat, owing to steam replacing sail, she became a fishing boat, a racing yacht and a sail training vessel.
Earl of Pembroke was a wooden, three-masted barque, which was frequently used for maritime festivals, charters, charity fund raising, corporate entertaining and film work.
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STS Mir is a three-masted, full-rigged training ship, based in St. Petersburg, Russia. It was built in 1987 at the Lenin Shipyard in Gdańsk, Poland.
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Tall Ships Youth Trust (TSYT) is a sail training organisation in the United Kingdom that currently owns and operates four 72ft Challenger yachts and a 55ft ketch.
TSRoyalist is the name of two vessels. The original was a brig launched in 1971 and owned and operated as a sail training ship by the Marine Society & Sea Cadets of the United Kingdom. At the end of her service she was replaced by a new vessel bearing the same name.
The tallship Søren Larsen is a brigantine built in 1949 in Nykøbing Mors, Denmark. Her current homeport is Sydney, Australia.
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The SV Tenacious is a modern British wooden sail training ship, specially designed in the 1990s. When completed in 2000, it was the largest wooden ship to be built in the UK for over 100 years.
The Tall Ships Races are races for sail training "tall ships". The races are designed to encourage international friendship and training for young people in the art of sailing. The races are held annually in European waters and consists of two racing legs of several hundred nautical miles, and a "cruise in company" between the legs. Over one half of the crew of each ship participating in the races must consist of young people.
Amazon is a 102-foot (31 m) long screw schooner and former steam yacht built in 1885 at the private Arrow Yard of Tankerville Chamberlayne in Southampton.
The Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant was a parade on 3 June 2012 of 670 boats on the Tideway of the River Thames in London as part of the celebrations of the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II. The Queen, Prince Philip and other members of the Royal Family were aboard vessels that took part in the parade. The parade was organised by the Thames Diamond Jubilee Foundation, and funded by private donations and sponsorship. The pageant master was Adrian Evans.
STV Astrid was a 41.90-metre long tall ship that was built in 1918 in the Netherlands as a lugger and originally named W.U.T.A., short for Wacht Uw Tijd Af meaning "Bide Your Time". She was later transferred to Swedish ownership, renamed Astrid and sailed on the Baltic Sea until 1975. She then sailed under a Lebanese flag and was allegedly used for drug smuggling. After being found burnt out on the coast of England in the early 1980s, she was overhauled and used as a sailing training vessel. She was based in Weymouth, Dorset, United Kingdom and was informally known as "Weymouth's vessel".
STS Lord Nelson was a sail training ship operated by the Jubilee Sailing Trust. She was designed by Colin Mudie and launched on 17 October 1986.
Colin Mudie was an Edinburgh-born yacht designer, author, naval historian, balloonist, and advocate for the handicapped sailor. He studied engineering at Southampton University, before working under yacht designers including Laurent Giles and Uffa Fox. He then set up his own firm. He received the award of RDI for Small craft/ naval in 1995.
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