Rudolph Ellul sees dream to sail the seas coming true

For a disabled person to be able to join a square rigger on a trip as a member of the crew is a dream of a lifetime.

Rudolph Ellul`s dream will soon be realised. The 32-year-old from Floriana has been chosen as the first disabled Maltese to join the square rigger Lord Nelson, owned and run by the Jubilee Sailing Trust of the UK.

Rudolph`s time on the high seas has been made possible by John Marshall, who has offered to sponsor another two disabled Maltese to go on one of the cruises.

Established in 1978 in the UK with a donation from the Queen`s Silver Jubilee Fund, the Jubilee Sailing Trust promotes integration between able-bodied and physically disabled adults by sailing tall ships.

Close to 7,000 people, 3,000 of them in wheelchairs, have so far joined the tall ships Lord Nelson and Tenacious owned by the Trust.

Each of the vessels takes a permanent crew of 10 and 40 passengers - 20 people with physical disabilities and the rest able-bodied.

Albert Felice, a former headmaster of a school for the disabled and a sailing instructor, will be Rudolph`s buddy on the trip and form part of the crew as well.

"As members of the crew we will be sheeting sails, hauling halliards, peeling potatoes and, of course, washing the dishes with the rest of the crew," Mr Felice said.

Mr Felice also chairs the Malta branch of the Jubilee Sailing Trust, which is the first branch to be set up outside the UK.

Mr Marshall`s connection with Malta goes back a number of years when he and his late wife used to visit the island regularly.

After Mrs Marshall passed away, friends of the Marshalls started collecting money to put up a memorial for her. But Mr Marshall suggested that the funds raised would be used in what he considered a much more fitting tribute to his wife - offering sponsorships aboard the Jubilee Trust riggers to three disabled Maltese.

For the past couple of years, Mr Marshall, with the assistance of Carol Stokes, a carer on board the Tenacious, has been doing the groundwork for a branch of the Jubilee Trust to be established here.

The first meeting of the local branch was held recently at the Royal Malta Yacht Club and was attended by Mr Marshall and Ms Stokes.

The founder, Christopher Rudd, said the Trust was a registered charity which had its own business company that promoted the tours and sold promotional material.

The first of the JST tall ships, Lord Nelson, is made of steel. It has a displacement of 75 tons and an overall length of 42 metres. It first sailed in 1986 and cost £2.5 million.

The Tenacious has a displacement of 675 tons and the overall length of the hull is 50 metres. Made of wood, it cost £14.3 million and sailed on its maiden voyage two years ago.