A&P Falmouth Assists Ship ‘Jubilee Hope’ on Charity Voyage to Africa

Stormy weather has forced a ship to take cover in Falmouth on the first leg of her charity voyage from Scotland to Africa, where she will become a medical ship serving isolated communities.

A&P Falmouth Assists Ship 'Jubilee Hope' on Charity Voyage to Africa

A&P Falmouth has come to the assistance of the Jubilee Hope, which set sail from Glasgow on January 22 and was just four days into her 8,585 mile trip when she arrived in Falmouth.

After being battered by the weather in the Irish Sea, the ship’s paint work on the bulwark, including the all-important ship’s name, has been washed off and needs to be repainted before she can begin the next stage of her journey. A&P was asked by Iain Murray, Vine Trust Project Co-ordinator, if it would help and was only too willing to say yes.

The ship and her volunteer crew of six have been stuck at Challenger Quay since Monday due to the heavy seas and are hoping to depart for Las Palmas on Thursday or Friday.

Run by charity the Vine Trust, the Jubilee Hope is en route to Mombasa, where she will then be transported overland to Lake Victoria to become a medical ship serving isolated communities.

The journey, which will cost £45,000 in fuel alone, is raising money along the way.

Gordon McLaren, skipper of the Jubilee Hope, said: “We left Greenock on Wednesday last week but took a bit of a battering down through the Irish Sea, where a lot of the paint work was washed off, including the name on her bow. We are told that she must have her name on the bow before we set sail again, so we are extremely grateful to A&P Falmouth for coming to the rescue.”

Nigel Best, Paint Manager at A&P Falmouth, said: “We are delighted to be able to help the Jubilee Hope and her crew in this small way and wish her all the very best for their trip to Mombasa. We will all be keeping a close eye on her progress.”

Vine Trust is an international interdenominational volunteering charity which seeks to enable volunteers to make a real and significant difference to some of the poorest children and communities in the world. They welcome people from all backgrounds who share their ethos of caring and their belief that whilst they can’t help everyone they can all help someone.

Healthcare, children and education have been key priorities as they build the capacity of their local partners to meet local needs. Currently their Amazon Hope Medical Programme provides a healthcare service for over 100,000 patients annually in Peru through two medical ships, with further expansion planned. Alongside this, they replicated their Amazon Hope healthcare model on Lake Victoria, Tanzania in 2013, with the aim of establishing a healthcare service for isolated communities in this area and reaching a further 100,000 people who were in need of access to basic healthcare services. HRH The Princess Royal is Patron.

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A&P, February 4, 2014