Kenya Jacaranda Heritage Sailing

Kenya Jacaranda Heritage Sailing (KJHS) has been set up to restore and perpetuate KJ and to encourage public interest, education and participation in many practical aspects of our maritime heritage. Using KJ as a Thames-based community resource, we aim to promote:

Inclusivity - anyone from the target area is invited to become a member/volunteer

Accessibility - KJ is a locally-based ship for local people; our outreach programme 'spreads the word'

Diversity - by creating a diverse and mixed ability network of supporters and volunteers

Sustainability - by maintaining a skill-rich and financially self-sufficient organisation which undertakes charitable activities, providing supported sailing activities to young people and, eventually, creating youth crews to take KJ to maritime events and tall ship races.

Once 'KJ' is fully restored and seaworthy, we will return to her primary purpose which is to provide sailing experience for people of all ages, but especially the young and underprivileged.

By providing sailing experience we hope to impart something of the theory and practice of seamanship and encourage teamwork. Crewing a large sailing vessel is a wonderful experience and we hope that, as well as learning the difference between port and starboard, the people who sail with us will enjoy an inspiring and educational time on this beautiful ship and learn something about self-discipline and self-reliance.

Our first prority is repair and renovation, a detailed programme has been defined and regular working sessions are already taking place, normally on Saturdays.

The maintenance and restoration work will provide many participation opportunities and an introduction to many traditional skills for our members and helpers. Our long-term fundraising scheme, 'Pledge-a-Plank' (or a pot of paint, or glue, or a coil of rope) enables supporters of our work to donate in an interesting and practical way.