Awards
The Nelson Society JST Lord Nelson Youth Award 2009
In 2008 the first Nelson Society Jubilee Sailing Trust Youth Award was made to Zoe Vincent aged 16 from Saltash in Cornwall. She has now booked her berth for a voyage on the Lord Nelson, and we look forward to reading her report in The Nelson Dispatch. Her entry, published in The Nelson Dispatch in October 2008, was an imaginative piece about the emotions of an author writing part of a book on Nelson and Trafalgar. The runner up in the 2008 competition was Louis Morris, whose entry was published in the January 2009 edition of the Nelson Dispatch. Louis’ piece was also an imaginative piece of writing, imagining the world from the perspective of the Victory in dry dock in Portsmouth with memories of war. Louis has received this year’s membership of the Nelson Society and the prize of a book awarded by the Nelson Society Committee.
2009 Award now open for entries
The award for this year is now open to entries. The winner will receive an award of 80% (up to a maximum of £600) of the cost of a berth for a voyage on the Jubilee Sailing Trust vessel The Lord Nelson, to be used during the next year and will be eligible to join the JST Youth Leadership@Sea Scheme. They will also receive next year’s membership of the Nelson Society as part of the award. The runners up will receive membership and a book prize.
The award is open to anyone aged 15 to 25 at date of entry, membership of TNS is not a condition of entry. Able-bodied and persons with a disability are eligible for entry, as long as they can meet the JST criteria for crewing on The Lord Nelson. Entries can be an essay or a piece of creative writing, or a piece of creative artwork, or a video or computer generated programme or image, on a subject relating to the life and achievements of Admiral Lord Nelson. All texts must be original work of the person submitting them. The full rules are available on the Nelson Society website, www.nelson-society.com.
The Nelson Society Jubilee Sailing Trust Youth Award is part of the Society’s legacy from the 2005 bicentenary commemoration. It aims to encourage young people to engage with the sea and with Britain’s maritime heritage, in particular with the legacy of Nelson. The Jubilee Sailing Trust was one of the partners with The Nelson Society in the 2005 New Trafalgar Dispatch project. The Lord Nelson carried The New Trafalgar Dispatch, written by Colin White, from Spain to the UK under sail before it was brought to the Admiralty by Post Chaise following the same route as that taken by Lt Lapenotiere in 1805. More details of the JST’s activities are available at www.jst.org.uk.
The closing date for the 2009 award is 30th June 2009. Entries should be sent to G Aldous, 4 Drax Avenue, London SW20 0EH or by email to galdous@9goughsquare.co.uk.
Launch Date 21st October 2007, Trafalgar Day.
For More information Editors can contact Grahame Aldous at galdous@9goughsquare.co.uk.
As part of the legacy work following the success of its 2005 Bicentenary year projects The Nelson Society is launching two new awards to be funded from a new ring-fenced fund, The Nelson Society Bicentenary Projects Education Fund. This fund has been made possible by the successful activities carried out in 2005 to mark the bicentenary of the Battle of Trafalgar and the death of Lord Nelson, in particular the success of the bicentenary Medal project.
The Nelson Society National Maritime Museum Academic Award will be awarded biannually to fund original research into the life and achievements of Lord Nelson. The aim in particular is to enable original research to be undertaken into some of the unexplored archives of the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich. Applicants for the award will be expected to show a proven ability to undertake such research, and to make the results available for publication by The Nelson Society, so that members can share in the discoveries as they are made and put into the public domain. The sum of £1,000 will be awarded biannually, and will be able to be used to extend an academic fellowship at the NMM Centre for Imperial & Maritime Studies to enable extended original research.
Dr Nigel Rigby, Head of Research at the NMM, has welcomed the award and says:
“The Research Committee [at the NMM] is strongly in favour of the proposal and is very excited by the prospect of working with the Nelson Society to support scholarship in 18th Century naval history. I am delighted that you have thought of working with us on such a positive and forward thinking project”.
More details about the NMM Centre for Imperial & Maritime Studies and its academic work are available at www.nmm.ac.uk/cims
The Nelson Society Jubilee Sailing Trust Youth Award will be made annually to fund a place for someone between the ages of 16 and 25 on the JST sailing vessel the Lord Nelson. Applicants will submit by June of each year an essay, a piece of creative writing or artwork, or a video or computer programme related to the life and achievements of Lord Nelson to be judged by TNS committee. The winner will receive 80% funding of a berth on a JST voyage on The Lord Nelson up to a limit of £600. They will be expected to raise the balance, and all other costs and expenses, including insurance for sailing a tall ship outside UK coastal waters, themselves and to provide a report on their experience for TNS. The submitted works and the winner’s report will be available for publication in The Nelson Dispatch. Runners up will receive books and memberships from TNS.
The Nelson Society Jubilee Sailing Trust Youth Award reunites TNS with one of its partners in the successful New Trafalgar Dispatch project in 2005. It was the Lord Nelson which carried the New Trafalgar Dispatch from off Cape Trafalgar to Falmouth, following the journey of HMS Pickle to the same port in 1805.
Amanda Butcher, Chief Executive of the JST has welcomed the new award. Speaking in Southampton on board the Lord Nelson she said:
“The JST is delighted to be working with The Nelson Society on this exciting project to help young people reconnect with the Sea, and with their maritime history”
Briefing Note on the JST
The Jubilee Sailing Trust was established in 1978 with a donation from the Queen’s Silver Jubilee Appeal Fund, following an idea conceived by its founder, Christopher Rudd. The aim of the charity is to promote integration between able-bodied and physically disabled adults through the medium of tall ship sailing. This is achieved by enabling a mixed ability crew between the ages of 16 and 70 plus to crew a tall ship at sea. Voyages range between 4 and 11 days and able bodied and physically disabled people participate on as near equal terms as possible. There are no passengers; everyone works to the best of his or her ability. This seemed a fitting target for an award by The Nelson Society targeted at youth and aimed at helping young people to reconnect with the sea and with their maritime history in celebration of the world’s most famous disabled sailor. The award will be open to able bodied applicants as well as applicants with a disability. No previous sailing experience is necessary, just a willingness to learn and to be challenged. Winners of the award will be eligible to enter the JST Youth Leadership @ Sea Scheme, subject to availability on a chosen voyage.
The JST Youth Leadership @ Sea Scheme
- The winner will arrive onboard the Lord Nelson as an active voyage crew member and part of a mixed physical ability crew. They will be signed on and placed into a watch.
- On arrival they will be assigned a bunk and a locker and given a Youth Leadership @ Sea T-shirt (to be worn with pride!)
- They will each be paired with a suitable ‘Buddy’ so that you can look out for each others’ needs and face the challenges together.
- They will learn to set, stow and brace the sails and helm the ship. They will also take an active turn in the galley helping to prepare and serve meals, cleaning the ship, general maintenance and above deck work or working aloft on the yards, by shadowing the Bosun’s Mate.
- They will be led by an experienced Watchleader and be ‘mentored’ by a member of the Permanent Crew. They may have the opportunity to take a Watch (team of up to 10 people) and delegate duties.
- There will be problem solving and teambuilding tasks and activities set throughout the voyage.
- There will be an emphasis on Disability awareness, including taking on the chance to experience what life is like on board in a wheelchair or for the visually impaired.
- After your voyage the mentor will give an appraisal. They will evaluate how in different situations were coped with, what new skills were developed, also on aspects like the level of involvement, ability to lead and make decisions and working alongside others in a team.
- After the voyage the winner will write a short report evaluating their experience of the voyage for The Nelson Dispatch and the JST and on completion of the scheme (which includes satisfactory feedback from the mentor) they will receive a certificate as a record of their achievement.
The Lord Nelson was the first of the JST’s two purpose built tall ships. Her many facilities enable disabled crew to perform their duties independently alongside their able-bodied shipmates. The ship has access throughout for disabled crew, including wheelchair users, with flat wide decks and powered lifts. There is a speaking compass for the use of blind crew members and bright track radar for partially sighted crew. An induction loop and vibrator alarms have been installed for hard of hearing crew members.
There are special cabins, toilets and shower facilities for disabled crew and the ship is fitted with a mess deck, fully equipped galley, workshop and of a well stocked bar and saloon area.
The Lord Nelson has a Gross Tonnage of 368 tons and is 42 metres in length, 55 metres including the bowsprit. She has a 9 metre beam, and draws 4 metres. She is 33 metres high to her mast head, with a sail area of 1024 metres spread over 18 sails on her 3 masts. She can sail at 10 knots under sail, and make 8 knots under power. The ship has 8 permanent crew, including the Master, Capt Clare Cupples, and 2 Bosun’s mates. The voyage crews are 40 strong, of whom half may be physically disabled, with up to 8 wheelchair users. Amongst the voyage crew there will be 4 Watch Leaders and, where possible, a Doctor. Since her maiden voyage in 1986, the Lord Nelson has taken over 22,908 people to sea. Of these, 8,970 people were physically disabled and 3,509 were wheelchair users. Their disabilities have included Cerebral Palsy, Multiple Sclerosis, Spina Bifida, Paraplegia and many more.
More details about the Lord Nelson and the JST are available at www.jst.org.uk.
