On Sunday 21st September, the magnificent tall ship Lord Nelson will be berthed at Custom House Quay, Weymouth and will be open for public tours.
The impressive Lord Nelson which is owned and operated by the Jubilee Sailing Trust (JST) is not only an impressive three masted barque in her own right, but is one of only two tall ships purpose designed and built to enable people of all physical abilities to sail the oceans side by side as equals.
Members of the public are invited to tour the ship from 1000- 1200 and again from 1400- 1600, where they will be able to see for themselves the splendour of a working tall ship. Getting a close up view, and indeed a tour 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 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.
Since her maiden voyage in 1986, Lord Nelson has taken almost 24,000 people on voyages. 9,305 of these people have had a physical disability and of these 3,611 were wheelchair users.
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.
Lord Nelson and Tenacious are the only ships of their type in the world which have special facilities aboard to allow the mixed ability 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 provides year round sailing adventures for all. These amazing opportunities give anyone the chance to sail regardless of physical ability or sailing experience.
For more information on this and the many other sailing opportunities with the JST please call the Voyages Department on: 023 8044 9138 or email: voyages@jst.org.uk