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It was a cloudless night, the sky was shimmering with stars, brighter than a galaxy of diamonds, and there was absolute silence, apart from the sound of the wind gently filling the sails and the water lapping under the hull.

Sitting on the bridge, keeping look out, at 3 o'clock in the morning I suddenly felt as though I was in paradise. I looked up at the ghostly sails, lit only by the light from the stars, and knew what it felt like to be on the Dawn Treader voyaging out to look for the end of the world.

That is the lasting memory I brought home with me, from a holiday I will never forget. I had no idea what to expect, when I booked to go on The Lord Nelson on a 6 day voyage from Jersey to Weymouth, at the beginning of May; however nor did most of the crew, who were also first timers like myself.

We spent longer than planned in Jersey, at the start of the voyage, because the wind was too strong; however this gave us a chance to learn a bit about how to sail the ship, and which rope was which! When we eventually did set sail we had a good strong wind that blew us swiftly down to the northern coast of Brittany.

We put in to St.Malo where we stayed for 24 hours during which time the wind died down sufficiently for "Wheelchairs aloft". This is an experience not to be missed - the view is superb, and suspended from the harness, halfway up the mast is a swing that any child would be green with envy for!

We left there with two days to go before we were due at Weymouth - but the wind was coming straight off England and we had to tack. We had the most perfect conditions, and we sailed right through both nights. However it must have been rather depressing for the Captain, who went to bed when we were 91 miles from England and woke up to find we were still 91 miles from England!
One of my concerns, at the start of the voyage, was that I would not be able to play a full part in crewing the ship, and I would end up being given token jobs to do. However this is definitely not the case. Most of the tasks that can be done by everyone, regardless of disability.

By the end of the voyage the only distinction between people was between those who wanted to play an active part, and those who should have booked on a cruise!

This was a holiday of a lifetime. Am I going again ? Try and stop me!