More than 400 nautical charts from global sailing charity Jubilee Sailing Trust (JST) are up for auction – thanks to a fundraising former crew member.
Marianne “Maz” Clapton, who has previously sailed as a Second Mate on the JST’s tall ship SV Tenacious, decided to put the charts – originally costing £10,000 in total – under the hammer from Friday 29th July with the auction ending midnight on 21st August.
The charts represent paper-based maps used for navigation onboard Tenacious and the JST’s second sailing vessel the STS Lord Nelson, before the charity made the switch to electronic charts in Autumn 2020. Some of these charts still have tracks and position plots marked on the charts from where the ship has sailed.
Charts range from the Maldives and Sri Lanka in the Indian Ocean to Darwin and Adelaide off the coast of Australia. There are also trips to Madeira and the Mediterranean, the Caribbean and Cape Verde up for grabs.
Slightly more unusually named Yell Sound off the coast of Shetland and Booby Island near Queensland are included in some of the 400 charts.
The auction will raise vital funds for the charity, which provides inclusive adventures at sea for people of mixed abilities, after it has suffered significantly reduced income for the last two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic, forcing all of its voyages to be cancelled.
Proceeds from the auction will go towards the JST’s Covid Recovery Campaign, which aims to raise £1.2 million by the end of September 2022 so it can continue to fund existing ship and shore operational activities.
Maz, who now occasionally works as a Relief Officer onboard Tenacious said: “With charts going back to Lord Nelson STW voyages in 2012, and hundreds of voyages enjoyed by people around the world, the charts will no doubt bring back happy memories to many of the JST’s loyal supporters.
“Bidders will be delighted to discover a variety of charts, including the UK, Canary Islands, Caribbean, Australia and Asia, from both Tenacious and the now-retired STS Lord Nelson, making it of particular interest to some of the Trust’s more seasoned-supporters.
“The charts would have originally cost the Jubilee Sailing Trust £25 each, so the bid is set at a minimum of £15, which includes postage to the UK. A minimum of £9 from each chart sale will go directly to the Jubilee Sailing Trust.
“We also can offer international postage on request for our adventurers from further afield!”
The JST, which has a base in Ocean Village, Southampton, is entirely reliant on public funding and was hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic.
JST Head of Fundraising Sara Fleming said: “Maz’s support will greatly help our continuing Covid Recovery campaign. We truly appreciate that not only is Maz arranging the auction, she is also doing all the administration and posting the charts to their new owner”
“We would like to pass on our thanks to Maz and all of our incredible supporters for their efforts in supporting the Jubilee Sailing Trust.”
A full list of the charts is available here. To bid, you can fill in the form here.
To donate to the JST’s Covid Recovery Campaign, please visit: https://jst.org.uk/crc-donation/
