Losing his sight five years ago did not stop Sherman Thompson from piloting the tall ship Tenacious through Two Rock passage of Hamilton Harbour yesterday afternoon.

It was the culmination of a voyage of a lifetime for Mr. Thompson, 56, who with the aid of a talking compass and pilot Michael Lightbourne, completed the final leg of the seven-day voyage from Antigua.

As a crew member of the tall ship, Mr. Thompson was expected to pull his weight and complete duties like the mess hall and manning the sails.

The only time during the voyage he was given an option out of his assigned shift, was when a series of 30-foot waves that bombarded the ship and it was unsafe for him to be in the mess hall.

For a man who did little more than one sail around Hamilton Harbour before his open sea adventure, Mr. Thompson said he thoroughly enjoyed his experience, but was happy to be back on dry land.

He said: "I lost three nights sleep at one point because of the bad weather. Yes I would do it again. I would like a little calmer conditions, though.

"When I was on the helm the ship was bouncing from side to side. It's not hard (to use a talking compass) it's just which direction it's indicating. It's an amazing experience, but I'm glad to be back in my own bed."

The experience is something Sean Pitcher, a board member of the Bermuda Sailors' Home and the Island's contact person for the Jubilee Sailing Trust (JST), hopes to extend to more disabled Bermudians.

Tenacious and her sister ship The Lord Nelson, as part of the JST fleet, have been taking disabled and handicapped Bermudians sailing for years, but the programme had tapered off.

The JST is a UK-based charity that aims to promote the integration of able-bodied and physically disabled people through adventure tall ship sailing holidays.

So far more than 28,000 people have gone to sea with the JST and more than 11,100 of them were disabled and more than 4,280 of those have been wheelchair users.

The ships have been designed with many special features, ensuring that everyone on board is able to take a full and active part in the running of the vessel.

Now Mr. Pitcher says he wanted to bring these experiences back for Bermudians especially teenagers starting, hopefully, this winter.

The trip was not lost on Mr. Thompson who had the rest of the crew describing the waves and the land passing beyond the boat.

He said: "Everyone's taken care of me. I couldn't see what it looked like, but everybody was describing the waves and the sense of what it looked like out there."

Anyone interested in participating can contact Mr. Pitcher at 295-1624 or the Bermuda Sailing Home at 295-5598.