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Sailing
Jubilee Sailing Trust
written by Jot Story
 If
you watch the Holiday Programme you will know that Lord Nelson
and Tenacious are tall ships designed and built for disabled
and able-bodied to sail together. Both ships are barques approximately
200feet long with huge square sails, they look a bit like
the famous Cutty Sark. They have a permanent crew of 8 and
40 voyage crew, of which 20 can be disabled and can include
8 wheelchairs. There are aids for blind and deaf.
The magic of going out onto the wheelchair
friendly bowsprit (pointy end to landlubbers) and sitting
in the sun, with the wind in your face, looking up at the
sails billowing out and gazing down at the dolphins playing
in the sparking waters is an unforgettable experience.
I also remember clinging on in a high wind,
pulling on the ropes while the wind buffets you and someone
is being sick, and they expect you get up at 4am to do a watch
and you think “most people think I am mad to do this, now
I know I am”. But I love it. There is always someone there
to help, great camaraderie and laughter and good food and
a terrific bar. The chance to visit harbours, ports and you
are working and playing with people who realise that everyone
is equal and almost everything can be done at the pace of
the slowest person.
Only the other day the first mate said to
me that he is badly paid, works awful hours and keeps thinking
that he is going to leave; and then he met Rebecca, who always
smiles, always says thank you and having completed an extremely
difficult climb up the ratlines to the platform, upon being
asked how she is feeling, replies “bloody knackered thank
you” and he realises why he does the job!
I may say that when you do an assisted climb,
you can get two gorgeous men (bad luck, guys) flanking you.
However the medical purser is female; Michael Clinton should
know, he is now engaged to one.
When you first get on board, your initial
reactions are…How will I ever find my way round, and how will
I know which of these miles of rope I should pull? There is
a watch-leader to assist your group. If you are disabled,
you have a buddy to help you and some of the ropes are still
a mystery to some! There is nearly always a smarty-pants who
asks why they are not colour coded? A patient Captain explains
that the ship is run on the old lines; anyway they want to
make you think!
So once you have found your way around,
eaten your first extremely good meal, had everything explained
to you by the permanent crew, which you will then promptly
forget, had a drink at the bar, gone to bed, had breakfast,
had more talks and watched in awe while some people climb
rope ladders and walk sideways onto what looks like a piece
of string and merrily chuck off huge bits of canvas, what
then?
The ship sets sail and you find that it
moves…up and down and side to side. After the first insecurity
you get your sea legs and it all makes sense, which is why
one week later, you swap addresses with your new friends,
reluctantly leave and make plans to return next year.
If you fancy an adventure rather than a
leisure break, a voyage rather than a cruise and make friends
rather than acquaintances, this could be the holiday of a
lifetime, just try asking one of the many voyagers in WAMDSAD,
and certainly me . . . Jot
Useful Link:
Jubilee Sailing Trust - www.jst.org.uk
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