Jubilee Sailing Trust
Accessible Tall Ship Adventures Designed for Disabled Persons
The Jubilee Sailing Trust (JST) enables everyone to experience the thrill and adventure of life aboard a tall ship, regardless of physical ability and previous sailing knowledge.
JST's mission is two-fold: to overcome prejudices and misconceptions about disability, and to show what disabled persons are capable of in an inclusive environment.
“We accommodate most disabilities, including amputees, wheelchair users, those who are deaf or blind, as well as people with debilitating conditions such as Multiple Sclerosis and Cerebral Palsy,” says Jane Bagnall, JST’s Press and PR Officer. “We also attract a lot of older people, including one who sailed with us when he was 99.”
Since 1986, more than 36,000 people, including more than 13,000 with disabilities, have sailed with JST.
Christopher Rudd, a schoolteacher and sailor who wanted to give disabled children the same experiences as able-bodied students, founded the Jubilee Sailing Trust, a registered charity, in 1978. Early sails took place on various barques and brigs, but it soon became clear necessary adaptation required building ships from scratch.
Jubilee Sailing Trust Accessible Tall Ships
The Jubilee Sailing Trust owns and operates two ships: the Lord Nelson, whose maiden voyage took place in 1986, and Tenacious, launched in September 2000.
A tall ship is an ideal environment for encouraging equality: the setting is generally as unfamiliar to the able-bodied as the disabled, and the tasks at hand foster communication, teamwork, and the recognition and application of individual skills.
JST’s ships are fully accessible. They offer comfortable accommodations, including cabins with wider bunks for wheelchair users. Design considerations enable people to get around unaided. These include:
- Flat, wide decks
- Raised markers on handrails
- Wheelchair-accessible lifts between decks and gangways Speaking compasses
- Hearing loops.
Jubilee Sailing Trust Adventures
JST adventures range from a day sail out in the Solent to a month long voyage to the Canary Islands.
Day Sails provide a flavor of life on board a tall ship. You may get the chance to climb the masts, set the sails, and try your hand at the helm. Though only a day, you will experience the thrill of sailing and a get a feel for what the whole experience is all about.
Voyages of a week or more provide the opportunity to work as a member of the crew, discover new skills, and make new friends. Trips include an eight-day sail around the Canary Islands, a week sailing in the Western Isles of Scotland, and voyages on the Mediterranean Sea, with departure points such as Malta, Monaco, and Istanbul.
Longer trips may provide opportunities to learn celestial navigation and other activities such as sail making/repairing and working with ropes and rigging.
Expect each day to be different from the last
JST Crews Make Sailing Accessible
As you board, JST’s permanent crewmembers and volunteers greet you. This team of highly skilled merchant seafarers includes a Master, First Mate, Second Mate, Bosun, Chief Engineer, Second Engineer, Medical Purser, and Cook.
The rest of the crew is made up of 40 people from all walks of life. On any voyage, half the crew may be disabled, but each member is actively involved. Regardless of physical ability, participants are encouraged to get involved in as much sailing as they feel comfortable with. For most participants, JST provides their first experience of stepping onto a tall ship.
The Jubilee Sailing Trust demonstrates the power of inclusion. Their ships not only accommodate the disabled, but have them working side by side with the non-disabled, raising both sails and expectations for what the disabled can accomplish.
Sailor in Wheelchair about JST Tall Ship Tenacious
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