Alex Lochrane, Chief Executive of the Jubilee Sailing Trust (JST) welcomed gold medallist Helena Lucas on board Lord Nelson at the PSP Southampton Boat Show on Sunday (23 September).

Helena is the first British Paralympic sailor to win a gold medal and the Lord Nelson is the first tall ship in the world to have been purpose-designed and built to enable disabled and able-bodied people to sail side by side as equals.

Helena 37, won London 2012 Paralympic gold in the 2.4mR one-person keelboat class at Weymouth and Portland earlier this month. She was the only woman in the 16-strong fleet.

The 55m Lord Nelson was launched in 1986 and can be sailed by people with a variety of sensory and physical disabilities, including amputees and wheelchair users.

Specially designed features aboard enable almost anyone to join in activities such as setting sails, navigating, steering the ship and keeping night watches. She is one of only two tall ships in the world that can accommodate people of all physical abilities; the other is the 65m Tenacious, also operated by the JST.

The JST was delighted to welcome Helena on board Lord Nelson, especially in the context of the PSP Southampton Boat Show where so many British and International marine brands and suppliers are gathered together. She stayed on board for several hours, had a guided tour of the ship and met many people associated with the Trust.

Alex Lochrane, JST’s Chief Executive, says “We hope that Helena’s visit to our ship during the Show will help encourage people of all physical abilities to take on their own personal challenge. The Jubilee Sailing Trust is working with Paralympians, and the RYA, to build on the legacy of the Games and inspire a generation – and we hope that Lord Nelson will, on many future voyages, have a Paralympic athlete on board to inspire our voyage crew.”