A SAILING trust which liberates people facing challenges has issued an emergency appeal to find £1million to save their project from sinking.

The Jubilee Sailing Trust (JST) was set up to support people from all walks of life overcome barriers.

The trust delivers their mission aboard two Tall Ships - STS Lord Nelson and SV Tenacious.

They are the only Tall Ships in the world designed so they can be sailed by a truly mixed ability crew, including people with a wide variety of impairments and health conditions.

The STS Lord Nelson was built in Wivenhoe in 1986.

It has helped thousands of people across the country but the trust has been forced to issue an appeal for funding and must raise £1million by Friday.

A total of £241,765 has been raised so far.

The appeal said: “Over the past 40 years the JST has delivered nearly 50,000 transformative adventures.

“In recent years we have been working hard to ensure this legacy can be enjoyed by many generations to come by making important changes to how we deliver our mission.

“We have been struggling to stabilise our financial situation for the past 12 months following a number of substantial mechanical issues across both ships, poor uptake of our winter 2018 programme, and the deferral of some partner projects from this summer to next year.

“Our objective is to urgently raise £1million by Friday. If we are unable to reach this target it is likely the JST’s activities will cease immediately, unless the trustees can find another viable solution.

“This decision has not been taken lightly and follows extensive consultation with restructuring professionals.”

Pam Glover, from Wivenhoe, has cerebral palsy and went on a JST voyage to gain confidence.

She said: “It helped change my life completely, giving me the confidence to step out and give up a tedious job, move to Wivenhoe from Surrey, take up a degree course at the Colchester Institute and gain a job at the Colchester Museum Service.

“I was a 32, lacking in confidence, having lived a very sheltered life. I went on the STS Soren Larsen in 1984, which was then chartered by the JST.

“I had no experience of working in a team to achieve anything but from day one you were a part of the voyage crew and was expected to do as much as you possibly could.

“Because I had cerebral palsy I was not the fittest sailor on the ship, yet there were others who were even frailer than I - people who had been in accidents who had difficulty speaking, so it taught me compassion as well.

“When I came off that ship I had achieved so many extraordinary things for a disabled lady. I thought I could do anything.”

The Lord Nelson is a unique Tall Ship which is 55 metres long. Since the launch in 1986 more than 11,000 trainees have sailed with this ship.

Some of the features on board are signs in Braille, lifts between decks, wide aisles, vibrator pads fitted to the bunks to alert in the event of an emergency, power assisted and ‘joystick’ steering and a speaking compass.

The Jubilee Sailing Trust commissioned the construction of the vessel in 1984 with a goal to teach physically challenged people how to sail.

Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson performed the naming ceremony.

To donate to the cause visit www.justgiving.com/campaign/emergencyappeal.

All funds received will be placed in a ring-fenced account and will not be touched until a final decision about the trust’s viability is made by the trustees at a meeting on Monday.