Jubilee Sailing Trust tall ship ends final voyage

STS Lord Nelson sailed in to Portsmouth for the final time

One of two tall ships owned by a sailing charity has completed its final journey, ahead of being officially decommissioned.

STS Lord Nelson had taken people with physical impairments sailing with the Jubilee Sailing Trust for 33 years.

The trust raised £1m in a week in June in order to survive, but said to cut costs, the ship would no longer sail.

Chief executive Duncan Souster said its arrival in Portsmouth was a "sad but extremely proud" moment.

The Southampton-based charity's vessels, STS Lord Nelson and SV Tenacious, were specially designed and fitted to allow people with physical impairments, including wheelchair users, to sail side-by-side with people who do not have disabilities.

The "emergency appeal" launched on 27 June reached its £1m target with donations from 3,500 individuals and companies.

The charity's two ships carried mixed-ability crews

It followed the 2018 annual report which said higher costs and a failure to sell places on STS Lord Nelson voyages while on a trip to Australia and New Zealand meant income was £750,000 less than anticipated.

It also said "ambitious fundraising targets were made and not set", with the trust making a £1.2m deficit.

Speaking after its arrival from Tower Bridge in London, Mr Souster said: "The trust has been facing financial challenges and the only way to get our costs in order was to reduce our fleet down to a single operating ship."

"I'm sad but extremely proud of the pioneering work the ship has done - she's been around the world helping people of all ages and backgrounds."

The trust's other ship SV Tenacious will remain at sea. A decision about the future home for STS Lord Nelson is to be made at a later date.

Tenacious is to remain at sea, under the charity's plans