Emergency funding drive allows JST to pay owed wages to crew

The UK tallship charity Jubilee Sailing Trust (JST) has broken through its first £500k emergency cash target as it tries to emerge from a pandemic-induced funding crisis.

The Trust said public generosity had raised over £520k so far. It is hoped that a number of pending applications to trusts and foundations will now set the charity on its way to achieving the next £700k target by the end of September – all of which will ensure it reaches the overall £1.2m fundraising goal.

'To say we are over the moon is an understatement',  the charity stated on Twitter.

Nautilus members have worked for the JST over many years, operating the vessel under international safety regulations and training the 'voyage crews' of largely disabled paying guests. The JST said reaching the first milestone will enable it to pay all its employees, who 'have worked without salary to help get the JST through its urgent cash flow crisis and ensure that our wonderful tall ship SV Tenacious continued with her 2022 voyage sailing programme.'

JST chair Charles Humpleby said: 'The trustees and I wish to offer our sincere thanks to everyone who has donated so far. We are committed to supporting the executive, shore-based staff and crew of Tenacious and of course our supporters.

'We will push on to maintain the current momentum to keep raising emergency cash. Furthermore, we are in discussions with a number of larger institutions to take us forward to the £1.2m mark. We continue to seek support from our watchkeepers, volunteer branches, and our supporters to continue to donate and seek out new funding ideas.'

Mr Humpleby said the Trust would also simplify the charity's two-company organisational structure.

It is in continued 'positive' discussions regarding the sale of its other tallship Lord Nelson, decommissioned in 2019, and was looking for opportunities to charter Tenacious, as well as considering crowdfunding options for the vessel.