The British accessible tall ship, Lord Nelson, is currently sailing North from Rio de Janeiro and will be arriving in Recife on 12th June.
The 55-metre tall ship, which is operated by the Jubilee Sailing Trust, a British charity, has spent the last 6 weeks exploring the Brazilian coastline. With both able-bodied and disabled crew, and a mix of nationalities on board including Brazilian, English, Norwegian and Canadian, the crew set sail on their latest voyage from Rio on the 27th May.
Daniel Ramos, 16, from Rio de Janeiro, received a bursary to come on board with the Brazilian Sea Scouts. He says “It’s been a wonderful voyage so far, I am sailing with other sea scouts and we are learning lots of things about life at sea, whilst mixing with people of various abilities and nationalities.”
Antonio Machado, 28, also from Rio de Janeiro, heard about the voyage through the Jubilee Sailing Trust’s Facebook page. “It’s been good to meet people with disabilities who are as passionate about life and sailing as I am. It’s been a fantastic voyage so far and more good times are yet to come!”
The crew are also getting ‘football fever’ ahead of the highly anticipated FIFA World Cup tournament, as Lord Nelson will arrive in Recife, on the 12th June – just before the city’s first match between Cote d’Ivoire and Japan.
Lord Nelson, like her sister ship Tenacious, is one of only two fully accessible tall ships in the world and is sailed by disabled and able-bodied crew. Features such as Braille signage, wheelchair lifts between decks and hearing loops, hand rails and a bowsprit wide enough to accommodate a wheelchair, mean a large variety of physical disabilities can be accommodated on board.
Football and sailing fans alike will be impressed to learn that in February this year, Lord Nelson was the first mixed ability vessel to sail around the infamous Cape Horn, in southern Chile. Having embarked from her home port of Southampton in October 2012, on her first ever global circumnavigation – the Norton Rose Fulbright Sail the World Challenge – she is sailing a massive 50,000+ miles and calling in to more than 30 ports, all to promote her message of inclusion and equality.
The ethos of the Jubilee Sailing Trust is to focus on what people are able to do, rather than what they can’t, and a buddy system on board pairs able-bodied and disabled crew during a voyage so they can provide each other with mutual support.
