The Jubilee Sailing Trust became a registered charity in 1978 and was the brainchild of Christopher Rudd, a school teacher and sailor who wanted to give the disabled children he taught the same experiences his able-bodied students had.  A chance meeting with Dr Tony Hicklin a consultant rheumatologist and specialist in rehabilitation, cemented the idea further.  Soon early trials were underway with the barque "Marques" and the brig "Royalist" followed by more extensive trials with the brigantine "Soren Larsen".

Before long, although voyages were successful, it was clear that the adaptations on the ships were not adequate: we needed to start from scratch.

Building Lord Nelson

 

	Lord Nelson

In 1984 work began on Lord Nelson. Colin Mudie, the renowned naval architect had been commissioned to design a vessel that could be sailed by 40 and enable people with a range of physical disabilities to take part in the sailing of the ship as well as any able-bodied person.

Lord Nelson's keel was laid in Wivenhoe, Essex on the 19th October 1984, however the final work was completed by Vosper Thornycroft in Southampton and at Cole’s Yard on the Isle of Wight. In October 1986 Lord Nelson made her maiden voyage. Since then Lord Nelson has taken over 24,000 people on a voyage, of these 10,000 were physically disabled and nearly 5,000 were wheelchair users.

The JST grew from strength to strength, and soon it was clear that demand for voyages was rapidly growing and a new ship would further enhance the JST’s mission.

 

Time for Tenacious

 

	Tenacious

Tony Castro, naval architect, designed "Tenacious" to incorporate features that our experience in testing and with Lord Nelson showed were essential for people with a physical disability or sensory impairment, to work at sea.

In June 1996 the keel of Tenacious was laid by HRH The Duke of York in Woolston, Southampton. Launched in February 2000, Tenacious is the largest wooden tall ship of her kind in the world. Tenacious was built with the help of volunteers who stayed on site for "Shorewatch" holidays to complete the build. Since then Tenacious has taken nearly 12,000 people sailing of these 3,000 were physically disabled and 1,000 were wheelchair users.