them a working adventure would have seemed bizarre even thirty years ago, for until then they were treated as "different'', and generally left on the sidelines of life.

But thanks to modern thinking, the designers of the tall ship Lord Nelson have made adventure on the ocean waves a reality for the physically disabled.

Purpose-built in 1986, the 400-foot, four-ton steel vessel allows the sight and hearing-impaired and the physically disabled to experience all the thrills -- and even the chills -- of ocean sailing under canvas.

Her many special features include bunks which shake in the event of an emergency -- to alert the deaf; a ship's wheel fitted with audio equipment to help blind helmsmen steer a proper course; special lifts to take the wheelchair-bound between decks, and devices to fasten wheelchairs to the deck in the event of rough weather. Safety rails are everywhere.

These, and many other features, allow the physically disabled to carry out their nautical duties alongside able-bodied crew members, and so get the most out of their voyage.

The Lord Nelson, which is named after Britain's most famous disabled sailor, Admiral Lord Nelson, is run by the Jubilee Sailing Trust, a British charity concerned with the welfare of seafarers.

The Trust began as the result of a lack of opportunities for the physically disabled who had participated in inshore sailing programmes but could not progress to offshore racing.

In 1989, the Lord Nelson visited Bermuda and in the process cemented a link with the Bermuda Sailors' Home, which provided assistance.

So impressed was the Home's board of management with the Lord Nelson concept that it resolved to raise funds to send Bermudians on future voyages. Thus the Bermuda Jubilee Sailing Trust Fund was formed.

To date, seven physically disabled and six able-bodied Bermudians have put to see on the voyage of a lifetime. They include Miss Amanda Marshall, who is legally blind, Mr. Jason Ford (partially paralysed), Miss Lisa Lewis (who suffered from a crippling muscle disease), paraplegics Mr. Wendell Talbot and Miss Berneice Godwin, and Mr. Abuwi Rasool, who is blind.

For stroke victim Mr. Burlington Williams, whose right arm and leg are paralysed, it was "the experience of a lifetime'' when he left Plymouth, England for a nine-day voyage to various ports around the British Isles accompanied by his fellow Bermudian and life-long friend, Captain Aubrey Smith, who is not only able-bodied but a very experienced seaman -- and perhaps best remembered as the captain of the Chauncey M. Depew and the Canima .

Although sailing around Bermuda was his hobby, septuagenarian Mr. Williams had never been deep sea before, and from the outset his trip proved memorable.

"We sailed on August 13, 1989 on voyage 13, and off the Isle of Man we ran into the same storm that hit Bermuda that year.'' Fierce winds and raging seas vent their fury on the Lord Nelson to such an extent that the sails were quickly furled and the hatches were battened down.

Most of the crew were flattened with seasickness but not the two Bermudians.

"Seasick? Not us!'' Mr. Williams proudly boasted.

Nor were they scared.

"The builders learned from the Marques disaster, and every porthole, hatch and door was watertight when closed. Every safety device was on board, and she is also a very strong ship.'' "Most steel ships are built to last 25 years and then be scrapped,'' Mr. John Young, executive committee member of the Bermuda Sailors' Home, noted, "but the Lord Nelson is designed to last at least 50 years.'' Other memories Mr. Williams cherishes include sight of the beautiful, misty mountains of Ireland, his first taste of bitter (draught beer) in a Welsh pub, and the many friendships he and Mr. Smith made along the way.

"It was really a beautiful experience,'' Mr. Williams said. And it seems the Lord Nelson 's crew were equally impressed.

"The day we finished up on the ship, they said to us, `If all the Bermudians are like you two, send' em over!' '' Mr. Smith related.

On board the tall ship, the impaired and disabled perform the same varied duties, which can take them everywhere from riding up the masts in a bosun's chair to peeling potatoes in the galley.

Each disabled person is accompanied on the voyage by an able-bodied companion.

The eight permanent crew are also able-bodied.

"They work on the buddy system,'' Mr. Young explained. "If there is an emergency or if something goes wrong, every disabled person has an able-bodied person to give them a hand; otherwise they all work together as crew.'' In the local context that means the Bermuda Sailors' Home has had to raise about $10,000 per year to send two representatives from the Island.

Working with a small committee, Mr. Young says that to date funds have been raised by writing letters to prospective donors. Because the scheme has been such a success the Home would like to send more Bermudians to the Lord Nelson , and would therefore welcome donations from a broader cross-section of the public.

"All donations will be gratefully received and acknowledged,'' he promised.

"Cheques should be made payable to the Bermuda Jubilee Sailing Trust Fund and mailed to P.O. Box HM619, Hamilton HMCX.'' Meanwhile, Mr. Young -- who started the Bermuda Jubilee Sailing Trust Fund -- is urgently seeking more members to serve on the committee which runs the Fund.

"Up to now the committee, drawn from members of the board of management of the Bermuda Sailors' Home, has been very small. Small committees are very efficient provided everybody is prepared to do the work, but we are limited by the expertise of the members currently serving.

"We now wish to expand our expertise, and in order to do that we are inviting people who are not members of the Bermuda Sailors' Home to join us.'' Specifically, the committee is seeking people with expertise in fund-raising, and also those who have an interest and expertise in inshore racing.

The idea of seeking people with an interest and expertise in inshore racing to serve on the Trust committee is to improve on the current situation whereby Bermudians joining the Lord Nelson usually do so without any sailing experience whatsoever -- unlike their British counterparts for whom the tall ship venture is a natural progression from inshore sailing.

"The Jubilee Sailing Trust in the UK started as a result of of a lack of opportunity for physically disabled people who had participated in inshore sailing programmes to progress to offshore sailing.

"Here in Bermuda, we have started the other way around and we think that in future it would be ideal if sailing on the Lord Nelson was something to look forward to for those who have experienced some inshore sailing,'' Mr. Young said. "Certainly, an inshore sailing programme would enhance the Lord Nelson experience.'' Finally, Mr. Young noted that he would be interested in hearing from any able-bodied person who would be fully sponsored or wished to pay their own way as a companion to a physically disabled person on fut Lord Nelson voyages.

"That would free up more funds and let us send more people,'' he said. Mr.

Young may be contacted at work (tel. 295-0902) or at home (tel. 293-1486).

MEMORIES ARE MADE OF THIS -- Bermudians (left) Captain Aubrey Smith and Mr.

Burlington Williams (right) present Bermuda Jubilee Sailing Trust Fund representative Mr. John Young with a framed print of the sail training ship Lord Nelson, on which they travelled in 1989.