Graham Neilsen
A couple of years ago we were introduced to Commander Graham Neilsen and his TS Pelican Project in Dorset.
TS Astrid
A retired Royal Navy Officer Graham had previously created the TS (Tall Ship) Astrid, a square rigged sailing ship designed to enable young people to learn about life comradeship and teamwork. The fundamental idea behind all sail training is that you bring the best out of alienated disaffected young people by having them work together at sea, up masts etc, in generally exciting and potentially hazardous circumstances. The great thing about the sea is that you can wake up each day to a new place - which is pretty stimulating for most people.
That project failed, eventually, when it proved to financially unviable in the long term and Astrid was sold to the Dutch.
Failed Commonwealth Project
Graham started on Pelican after he was asked to find a ship to act as the basis of a charity Commonwealth project, but having started the project the money failed to arrive.
Don't Settle
However, having developed the idea of a business model which would combine commercial charter work with training young people, which he believed would work financially he soldiered on, very slowly and without much money for a decade bringing this project to fruition.
And what a Result! We spent a day on her before Easter sailing in light airs in Weymouth Bay.
An amazing sailing ship
Pelican is a amazing sailing ship. She is still undergoing trials at Weymouth as I write, but her innovative rig means that she can sail to windward, fast, virtually unheard of in a ship with square sails. She will complete her fitting out in a few months and will then start a planned Europe and the Caribbean annual cycle, avoiding hurricanes and cold weather on each side of the Atlantic.
In one of my former careers I was a sailmaker with Phil Morrison, we designed and made sails for racing dinghies and small yachts - so looking at Pelican's rig and trying to work out how it works was a fascinating puzzle.
The secret
The secret was logical thought, an investigative mind and a lot of hard work by Philip Goode a naval architect based in Majorca. He developed his rig by researching and working out the secrets of the fast sailing ships of the Arab Barber Coast Pirates.
This created some real technical challenges, so that, for instance, Pelican has had to have single piece masts, rather than masts constricted from several overlapping sections. Her web site and Philip Goode's site will bring enlightenment if rigs are your thing. The Telegraph reported the unusual rig.
A Metaphor for Life?
I have often thought that yachting is a useful metaphor for real life. So in this case Graham followed, probably unknowingly, Steve Job's pithy "don't settle" maxim. He never gave up despite enormous obstacles and has shown what can be acheived if you pursue an idea that you know is right even where those around you don't necessarily realise that until later. Not a bad example to the rest of us, provided you have the staying power to succeed in the end.
I wish Graham and Philip every success with Pelican, they deserve it.
------ends------
Comments