STS Lord Nelson explained

STS Lord Nelson was a sail training ship operated by the Jubilee Sailing Trust. She was designed by Colin Mudie^[1] and launched on 17 October 1986.^[2]

The ship was built by the Jubilee Sailing Trust (JST) and, along with the SV Tenacious, the pair were the only tall ships in the world that are wheelchair accessible throughout. The JST are an international UN accredited charity offering sailing adventures to people of all abilities and backgrounds. She was decommissioned in October 2019.^[3]

Design and construction

STS Lord Nelson was commissioned by the Jubilee Sailing Trust, and the build was started in the summer of 1984 at the yard of James W Cook, Wivenhoe, Essex. She was designed by Colin Mudie, and is his design no 342. The ship was launched almost a year after the formal keel laying.^[2] After J W Cook went into voluntary liquidation, Lord Nelson was moved to Vosper Thornycroft's yard in Woolston, Southampton. As a result of an industrial dispute at Vospers, Lord Nelson had to move again, this time to Coles Yard in Cowes where the remainder of the work was carried out. She was finally sailed in completed form from Southampton on 17 October 1986.^[2]

In service

STS Lord Nelson completed 16,000 accessible voyages during her 33 years at sea with the Jubilee Sailing Trust.^{[4] [5]}

She finished her final voyage on 10 October 2019 to Southampton, and was subsequently moved to Bristol docks for decommissioning.^[6]

Disposal

On the 26 April 2021 the Jubilee Sailing Trust announced that they would sell the vessel, by then in a state of significant disrepair.^{[4] [7]} No sale of Lord Nelson was concluded and in August 2022, the ship's owning company, Jubilee Sailing Trust Ltd, was put into administration.^[8] With still no sale, the administrators put the ship for auction in June 2023.^[9]

Further reading

• News: LORD NELSON - Sail On Board. Sail On Board. 2018-07-03. en-US.
• Web site: Lord Nelson. www.small-cruise-ships.com. en-US. 2018-07-03.
• News: Setting sail for accessible adventure on the SV Tenacious. 2018-04-09. Lonely Planet. 2018-07-03. en.
• Report on the investigation of Lord Nelson contact with Tower Bridge London River Thames 15 May 2004 assets.publishing.service.gov.uk, Retrieved 2018-12-07
• Harry Turner: World's first round-the-world ship crewed by disabled docks in London yachtsandyachting.com, 24 Sep 2014, Retrieved 2018-12-07
• Web site: The Lord Nelson. www.wivencyclopedia.org. 2018-07-03.
• News: Force 10 to Antarctica. 2018-07-04. en-US.
• News: Disability accessible Tallship on World circumnavigation. 2018-07-04.
• Book: Butcher, Amanda. Tall Ships Handbook. 2014-02-15. Amberley Publishing Limited. 9781445618685. en.

Notes and References

1. Book: Rowe, Nigel. Tall Ships Today: Their remarkable story. 2014-07-03. A&C Black. 9781472903488. en.
2. Web site: Lord Nelson . Jubilee Sailing Trust . 7 December 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190214093628/http://jst.org.uk/our-tall-ships/lord-nelson/ . 14 February 2019 . Southampton . dead.
3. News: Jubilee Sailing Trust to decommission tall ship after financial review . 23 July 2019 . BBC News. 31 October 2019.
4. Web site: Jubilee Sailing Trust puts Lord Nelson up for sale . Jubilee Sailing Trust . 26 June 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210513221653/https://jst.org.uk/jubilee-sailing-trust-puts-lord-nelson-up-for-sale/ . 13 May 2021 . Southampton.
5. News: Lord Nelson tall ship for disabled people may get Bristol home . BBC News. 29 December 2019. 30 December 2019.
6. News: The sad story behind the huge tall ship which has just arrived in Bristol. Tristan . Cork . 18 October 2019 . BristolLive. 31 October 2019.
7. Web site: 140ft. Three masted barque tall ship - STS Lord Nelson . Apollo Duck . 26 June 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220324052422/https://www.apolloduck.com/boat/tall-ships-barque-for-sale/661093 . 24 March 2022 . Stirling, Scotland . usurped.
8. News: Jubilee Sailing Trust Ltd ‘forced’ into administration . 26 June 2023 . Marine Industry News . 30 August 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220831101131/https://marineindustrynews.co.uk/jubilee-sailing-trust-ltd-forced-into-administration/ . 31 August 2022 . Gosport.
9. News: Historic tall ship Lord Nelson goes to auction to repay charity’s debts . 26 June 2023 . Marine Industry News . 7 June 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230626025249/https://marineindustrynews.co.uk/tall-ship-lord-nelson-goes-auction/ . 26 June 2023 . Gosport.