Lee Hayward and Terry Whitty two disabled Royal Naval Veterans and Members of the Liskeard Branch of the Royal Naval Association have recently returned from an amazing and life changing trip on-board the Sail Training Ship Lord Nelson, she is a Tall Ship that is undertaking a round the world voyage. The Lord Nelson is one of two ships owned and managed by the Jubilee Sailing Trust, they have been designed and built to accommodate disabled and able bodied sailors alike so they can sail together side by side. Some of the designs unique to these ships are tie down points, wider companionways and cabins all to accommodate Wheel Chair users, Lifts and Stair lifts placed around the ship to allow easier access to sailors with mobility problems, there is a hearing loop for the deaf and additional LED lighting in and around the wheel house for the visually impaired.
Lee and Terry joined the Ship in Cape Town to take part in her South African Legs of her Sail the World Challenge. Whilst in Cape Town they took the opportunity to meet up with fellow Shipmates from the Cape-town Royal Naval Association, hosting them on-board the Lord Nelson. From Cape Town the Ship ventured back out into the Atlantic, hatches and wheel chairs were well and truly battened down for what was to be a rough couple days with the sea state reaching a force 8.
Next port of call was to be Simon's Town, here the South African Naval Base hosted the ship for an over night stop. Sea legs were swapped for land legs and normality reigned at least until the ship sailed the following day. Whilst here a trip to see the late Able Seaman Just Nuisances' statue ensued and his story on the adjacent plaque read with some amusement. For those that don't know Just Nuisance was a Great Dane which looked after local sailors and had been adopted and rated by them.
From Simon's Town the Lord Nelson went back around to Cape Town for a well deserved five day maintenance period along with a voyage crew change. Five days later, a bit of sight seeing and a 90% change in voyage crew on-board they set sail this time bound for Durban. Again the ever changing South Atlantic weather was challenging, the first day there was no wind and the ship had to use her motors, the next day and in the Indian Ocean the wind was perfect for sailing with good speeds of around 10 knots achieved under full sail. Then came the gale force nine, equally challenging for all disabled and able bodied alike. The Cooks still managed to supply us all with good food 5 times a day, quite how this was achieved is nothing short of a miracle.
Next stop and well needed was Port Elizabeth, again land legs required for what was to be an amazing couple of days. Two of the voyage crew Pete and Jay Bean own and manage the Schotia Safari Park, situated just outside of Port Elizabeth. 30 of the Lord Nelson's crew were invited along to the Park for day and night drives using the Park's off road vehicles, 4 out of the big 5 being spotted, the Leopard is so good at hiding. The following morning and still alongside came the assisted climbs, this is when the disabled crew get to climb the masts, hoisted up either in a wheel chair or helped, when needed with a rope attached to them. The mornings climbs were very emotional, Liz a 50 vear old managed to climb the 32 meters up the foremast, which for an able bodied person is fairly difficult, obviously taking a certain amount of courage and of course a head for heights. Liz though, had suffered a severe stroke some 15 years ago and had lost the use of her right side. Not to be out done, Mandy a wheel chair user, pulled herself and her wheel chair 10 metres to the first level of the main mast, there was not a dry eye on-board.
After a very emotionally charged 24 hours it was time to leave Port Elizabeth and head to the ships next destination; Durban. Again the unpredictability of the ocean took its toll on the ship, initially making very good progress, but the decision was made to go past Durban, turn around and set full sails thus sailing into Durban in full grandeur. The Indian Ocean had other ideas and a force 9 met the ship with all it had to offer, causing the ship to get into Port slightly later than anticipated, with clothes wringing wet and characters built a little more. Yes, the phrase “character building!!” was banded around on at least three occasions that This coincidently was the amount of times Lee had been hit by waves.
In Durban Lee and Terry left the Lord Nelson but not before hosting the local branch of the Royal Naval Association on-board for a goodwill visit. On completion of the visit Shipmate Denton Estment and his wife Lynda took Lee and Terry back to their home where they were hosted for the next 5 days. The Durban RNA Chairman shipmate Allen Pembroke organised an itinerary of sight seeing trips for them both with visits including a trip to the Durban Military Museum, were there are artefacts from the Zulu Wars to present day. Other trips included were a Zulu Tribe encampment, the Durban Sailing Club, Ushaka Shopping Centre and a Midlands Meander, here they were shown where Nelson Mandela was captured, just outside Howick, Kwa-Zulu.
After a very enjoyable but exhausting Month in and around South African shores and a head full of very special memorise Lee and Terry are now back home.
Lee writes, " We were both congratulated on our conduct on-board and have both been recommended to return to the JST Fleet as Watch Leaders, itself a real big honour" The Lord Nelson is now on her way to India with another 16 Months of sailing around the World in front of her.
Lee and Terry would like to say a special big thank you to the Royal Naval Association Number 4 Area and the Branches within the area for sponsoring them, allowing them to participate in the Jubilee Sailing Trusts, Forces Rehabilitation Scheme.
More information on the Jubilee Trust, it's Ships and Voyages can be found at www.jst.org.uk
More images from Lee and Terry's South African tour can be seen here
