JST ARCHIVE
sail and help others. Seeing the smiles on the faces of wheelchair users as they are hoisted up the mast, is one of the most humbling experiences you can imagine.” The atmosphere is extremely friendly from the moment you step on board, and the buddy system for those travelling alone who need extra help is a great way of making new friends. The watch system, set up by the ship’s crew, also creates a sense of comradeship which means you are never left alone to fend for yourself. The leader of my particular watch was Harry Ingram, an extremely competent volunteer from Aberdeen who has sailed with JST a total of 27 times. Harry has a progressive neurological condition which means he is now in a wheelchair, but he is one of the most inspirational characters you are every likely to meet. Reaching the ship, he told me, meant an epic journey alone, from Scotland to Southampton, via public transport. Noticing my sigh of amazement, Harry added: “You’ll find that disabled folk are fiercely independent as much as they can be, and travelling alone like this is actually very easy. I just put my kit bag on my lap and off I go.” Not one to let his disability totally affect his life, he says it’s important to become part of a team. “The alternative is to be stuck at home not being able to do anything. With JST you are treated as an equal because sailing is a great leveller.” Natalie Osborne, a JST regular since her double hip operation in 2002, says the Trust really turned her life around:
JST C/O GEORGIE CLARKE
“After my surgery I wanted something to aim for. When I went on board the first time, I was physically prepared but I was still deeply depressed. By the time I left the ship however, my life had been transformed, and it made me realise that there is life out there if you make the effort and push yourself. Because everyone is integrated, on every single level, it doesn’t matter if you are in a wheelchair, or if you have any other disability, you all get involved because you are needed to work together in order to sail the ship.”
FUNDING
Because the Jubilee Sailing Trust is a charity, the running of its ships relies heavily on donations – and on volunteer labour for annual maintenance work – there is no Government funding. The recent economic situation has, not surprisingly, affected the overall income of the Trust, with a drying-up of donations from large companies, though ABP, which runs their home port of Southampton, remains hugely supportive, waiving berthing costs and refunding pilotage fees. When the ship is at full capacity, the brochure price income (eg £135 for a day sail or from around £750 for a passage) equates to 70 per cent of what it actually costs to run. But there are also schemes to help out both able-bodied and disabled with up to 50 per cent (more for forces) subsidies, or bursaries towards the leadership@sea scheme.
JUBILEE SAILING TRUST
CHARITY FOUNDED 1978
SHIPS
Lord Nelson and Tenacious
SAILED SINCE 1978 36,000 guests including 16,500 disabled, of which 5,000 wheelchair
SAILING PER YEAR 2,000 guests
ANNUAL OPERATING COST £2,900,000
www.jst.org.uk Tel: +44 (0)23 8044 9108
CLASSIC BOAT FEBRUARY 2012 67
JSRJST C/O GEORGIE CLARKE
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