Sailing – Tenacious | Geno's Place

Tenacious

A Wheelchair Accessible Square-rigger

This is the Tenacious, under full sail. This photo was taken by our Boson's mate, Max.

See more of his work at http://www.tallshipstock.com

Captain John Fisher is showing me how to use the sextant for navigation. Our skipper is very bright, patient, competent and an accomplished sailor. You should see him walk on top the yards.

This watery tart is Sue; Ship's medical officer and "Jack of all trades."

It seems we were always reefing the sails or bracing the yards.

Here we are on the bowsprit, the most dangerous place to sit.

More of the bowsprit.

Here I am enjoying the weather.

Sometimes the weather was cold and windy. Here we are at the helm looking forward at the course sail. In high winds we only set a few of our 21 sails.

We were all assigned watch duty. Here I am on morning watch.

Notice the safety strap I'm wearing. I'm also wearing a detachable hood that my mother got for me for skiing. Works great for sailing too. Thanks mom.

As you can see, by looking at the horizon, the ship is listing about 10 degrees to port.

Imagine trying to roll a wheelchair on a ship's deck when the ship is pitching, yawling, and rolling (moving in 3 dimensions) and moving forward while it is listing. Whoever thought that putting a wheelchair on a sailing vessel was a good idea, must have been crazy and I want to thank him for that.

The permanent and voyage crew of the Tenacious.

The Aft Starboard watch crew, from left to right behind me, Tony, Jean, Colin, Clive and Laurence.

The Tenacious in Tenerife, Canary Islands.
- Courtesy of Max

Wheelchair Aloft

We went aloft in harbor, and at sea when the winds were calm.

When we went to the beach for a picnic, we were lowered into the dingeys with a dedicated block and tackle system.

Miscellaneous

In Tenerife, they held a reception for us.

Ahhhh, a beer vending machine.

Meet Fred, the ship's cook, and his assistant, Ann.In addition to three mealsa day, they made pastry snacks for us mid-morning and afternoon for 'smoko', the merchant marine version of coffee break. Ann helps with sails as well.

2 views of Laurence and Duncan working on a yard.

In the age of sail there were no safety harnesses.

That's Jean on a nude beach.

That's Julia on a nude beach.

In Spain, they used these moving ramps, at the airport, instead of escalators. That makes it easy for folks in wheelchairs as well as people who take their luggage for a walk.

A Wheelchair accessible Square-Rigger

This sink can be moved up or down and left or right, to accommodate a person in a wheelchair.

This is one of the wheelchair accessible lifts.

The helm has an adjustable chair that can be positioned out of the way when folks in wheelchairs take a turn at the helm. I used this joystick to steer the ship.

A few of the tables in the mess were height adjustable, to accommodate people in wheelchairs.

Canary Islands Lions Club

We couldn't get a flight out when we wanted, so Helen, our travel agent, hooked us up with two of the Lions Clubs on the island. Here we are in the lower mess of the Tenacious, planning our trip ashore. That's Captain John Fisher next to me. They were great - they arranged transportation, took us to Loro Parque, took us to dinner, then for a tour of the casino district. They taught us about the local culture, foods, and, in general, were great people.

Canary Islands Lions Club

Robert drove us around in this comfortable little car. There was room for four in front.

Since I took only a few pictures, I borrowed these from the Loro Parque web site to give you an idea of what we saw.

Also borrowed from the Loro Parque web site.

On the front grounds of Loro Parque. Betty on the right, me, Laurence, and Betty's friend also in the Lion's Club.

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