PRESS RELEASE
Date: 22/11/10
Paul Takes off on a Voyage of a Lifetime
Grimsby-born man Paul Moorby will be setting off on his voyage of a lifetime aboard a unique ship at the beginning of December this year.
Paul, Managing Director of an IT company in Wiltshire where he now lives, will be joining the tall ship Tenacious for a 35 day voyage leaving Las Palmas in the Canaries on 3 December and arriving in Antigua in the Caribbean on 6 January 2011. He will be joining a crew of up to 40 other amateurs on board the ship which is owned and operated by Southampton based charity, Jubilee Sailing Trust (JST). The ship is one of only two in the world that has been designed and built to enable able bodied and disabled people to sail side by side as equals. The other ship Lord Nelson is also owned and operated by the JST.
Everyone on board has a part to play no matter what their level of experience or ability. With facilities that include wheelchair lifts between deck levels, a speaking compass and the option for joystick steering or the usual ship’s wheel, but with hydraulic power assisted steering, everybody has the chance to fully participate in the action on board.
Paul has sailed with the JST before and says of his forthcoming adventure:
"On 1st December 2010, I set out on the biggest personal challenge of my lifetime: to sail across the Atlantic Ocean from Las Palmas to Antigua - a 35 day trip, in winter. 3,500 miles, at the rate of about 10 miles an hour, 24 hours a day, in seas of up to 30ft. That's higher than my house roof! We’ll be in a tall ship, working in shifts. The best bit of all - up to half our crew is "disabled" - for example, blind, deaf, or in a wheelchair. And the ship is designed to make sure that really doesn't matter -because it doesn't! I'm proud to support the Jubilee Sailing Trust"
Paul has also set himself a target of raising £2,000 in sponsorship, with money going directly to the charity at www.justgiving.com/paul-moorby to allow 3 people to sail on a future attitude - changing, possibly life -changing voyage. Paul's team where he works has also got behind the trip, allowing one of their key people to be away for five weeks, which is no small feat for a small company!
Details of all JST voyages are available on the JST website at: www.jst.org.uk.
Ends
Notes to Editors:
· For more information, photographs, testimonials and stories please contact the JST Press Office on 023 8044 9108 or email: pressoffice@jst.org.uk.
· Jubilee Sailing Trust owns two tall ships called Lord Nelson and Tenacious. Both have been designed and built specially with the purpose of enabling people of all abilities.
· Jubilee Sailing Trust (JST) was established in 1978 and operates under the patronage of HRH The Duke of York. The aim of the charity is to promote integration between able bodied and physically disabled men and women through the adventure of tall ship sailing.
· JST has been in operation for nearly 30 years and in that time has taken over 34,000 people to sea including more than 13,000 people with physical disabilities and 4,800 wheelchair users. LORD NELSON and TENACIOUS have many special facilities that enable disabled crewmembers to take an active part in the running of the ship. Facilities on board include wide decks for wheelchair users, a speaking compass to enable blind people to helm the ship, power assisted hydraulic steering for those with limited strength and much more.
· Everyone on board the ship has a vital role to play irrespective of ability, disability, age or gender. The success of each voyage depends on teamwork and working with individuals’ strengths, not weaknesses. For many people sailing with the JST has been a life changing experience, for others simply a fantastic adventure holiday.
· JST website can be found at www.jst.org.uk. Keep updated with life onboard with our daily web reports, emailed everyday from LORD NELSON and TENACIOUS.
· The Jubilee Sailing Trust is part of Holidays For All - a group of the UK’s leading disability charities and specialist tour companies working together to promote equality, accessible holidays and flexibility for disabled and visually impaired holiday makers.