Poole will be hosting a very special visitor on Saturday 17th May when the Jubilee Sailing Trust’s Tall Ship Lord Nelson comes alongside at Town Quay and opens up to the public giving them a unique opportunity to tour a fully operational tall ship.
Members of the public are invited to take a tour of the ship between 1000-1200 and 1400-1600, where they will be able to see for themselves the beauty of a tall ship up close.
Getting a close up view of the ship will be a real treat for those interested in the historic art of tall ship sailing.
Lord Nelson was designed by internationally renowned naval architect Colin Mudie in the early 1980's after a pilot scheme on board the adapted tall ships TS Royalist and SV Soren Larsen proved how successful integrating able bodied and disabled people through the medium of tall ship sailing could be.
On 19 October 1984 at Wivenhoe in Essex the keel of the Lord Nelson was laid and on 4 July 1986, after completion by Vosper Thornycroft UK (Ltd) Lord Nelson was named in the presence of the JST's patron HRH The Duke of York.
After trials, the vessel was commissioned on 3 September 1986 and with its well qualified and experienced permanent crew, undertook her maiden voyage in October leaving Southampton on 17th October, arriving back five days later.
Since her maiden voyage in 1986, the Lord Nelson has taken around 23,000 people to sea with nearly 9,000 of these people having a physical disability.
Lord Nelson and the JST’s second tall ship, Tenacious are groundbreaking with their unique design which enables able bodied and disabled people to sail together as equals.
The unique design and special facilities allow the crew to play a full and active role in every aspect of running a ship from helming and setting sails to cleaning the ship, known as ‘happy hour’.
For those who are interested to get more hands on, the JST is delighted to announce that their tall ship Tenacious will be sailing from Poole on Sunday 15th June on an eight day voyage ending at the port of Tilbury. With the promise of at least one foreign port en route this is a once in a lifetime opportunity for anyone to sail regardless of physical ability or sailing experience.
For more information on this and the many other opportunities with the JST please call the Voyages Department on: 023 8044 9138 or email: voyages@jst.org.uk