SV Tenacious

{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2017}} {{Use British English|date=November 2017}} {{Infobox ship |display_title=SV ''Tenacious'' |section1={{Infobox ship/image | image = Sv tenacious.jpg | image_caption = SV ''Tenacious'' at the starting line for the last leg of the STI Historical Seas Festival 2010 from Istanbul to Lavrion. }}

|section2={{Infobox ship/career | hide_header = | country = United Kingdom | flag = {{shipboxflag|United Kingdom|civil}} | name = ''Tenacious'' | owner = Jubilee | Sailing Trust (Tenacious) Ltd | ordered = | builder = Jubilee Yard (Merlin Quay), Southampton | original_cost = | laid_down = 6 June 1996 | launched = 3 February 2000 | acquired = | commissioned = 1 September 2000 | decommissioned = | in_service = | out_of_service = December 2023 | struck = | identification = *{{IMO Number|1005679}} *{{MMSI Number|235000230}} *Callsign: ZQHM2 | fate = | status = Operational | notes = }}

|section3={{Infobox ship/characteristics | hide_header = | header_caption = | class = | tons_burthen = 586 tons | length = {{convert|54|m|ftin|abbr=on}} hull, {{convert|65|m|ftin|abbr=on}} including bowsprit | beam = {{convert|10.6|m|ftin|abbr=on}} | draught = {{convert|4.58|m|ftin|abbr=on}} in summer | hold_depth = | propulsion = *Sails: {{convert|1217|m2|sqft|abbr=on}} *Engines: 2 x {{cvt|400|bhp}} | speed = * {{convert|11|kn}} under sail *{{convert|8|kn}} under power | sail_plan = Barque (three-masted)) | complement = *Permanent crew approx 11 (incl. 3 volunteers) *Voyage crew up to 40 (50% of whom may be sensory impaired or physically disabled) | notes = }} }} thumb|SV ''Tenacious'' '''SV ''Tenacious''''' is a modern British wooden sail training ship, specially designed in the 1990s. When completed in 2000, it was the largest wooden ship to be built in the UK for over 100 years.

== Design and construction == The ship was built by the Jubilee Sailing Trust (JST) and designed by Tony Castro. With {{ship|STS|Lord Nelson}}, the pair are the only tall ships in the world that were built so that both disabled and non-disabled people can sail as crew, not passengers. Features that cannot be found on other ships include wheelchair lifts throughout, a unique ascender systems that allow wheelchair users to go aloft (either assisted or by their own efforts), a speaking compass for those with visual impairments, hearing loops, adjustable furniture for those with mobility difficulties, and a joystick to help individuals with dexterity limitations to steer the ship. Everyone plays a full and active role in the voyage. The JST is a UN-accredited charity offering sailing adventures to people of all abilities and backgrounds. The ship is owned and operated by Jubilee Sailing Trust (Tenacious) Ltd.

Launched in 2000, the sailing vessel ''Tenacious'' is the largest wooden tall ship built in the United Kingdom in the last 100 years. It is {{convert|65|m|ftin}} long including bowsprit, and it is rigged as a three-masted barque with two mizzen gaffs. Its deck is {{convert|49.85|m|ftin}} long, its hull is {{convert|54.02|m|ftin}} long, and it has a beam of {{convert|10.6|m|ftin}} at its widest point. ''Tenacious'' displaces about 714 tons (summer draft). A press release from the Belfast Maritime Festival on 22 June 2006 announced that the ''Tenacious'' was "the largest wooden ship still afloat".<ref name=Press>[http://www.belfastcity.gov.uk/news/news.asp?id=386 ''World’s largest wooden ship berths in Belfast for maritime celebration''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929124254/http://www.belfastcity.gov.uk/news/news.asp?id=386 |date=29 September 2007 }}, accessed 10 December 2018, press release of Belfast Maritime Festival, organised by Celebrate Belfast and the Port of Belfast, 22 June 2006</ref> (see also, the ''Götheborg'' and USS ''Constitution'' for large wooden hulled, sailing vessels that are still sailed)

The yacht ''Creole'' is a similar sized wooden sailing vessels still sailed at 63.7 meters long.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Creole: On board the sailing yacht owned by the Gucci family |url=https://www.boatinternational.com/yachts/editorial-features/creole-on-board-the-worlds-largest-wooden-sailing-yacht--33987 |access-date=2025-08-29 |website=www.boatinternational.com |language=en}}</ref> Another similar sized wooden sailing vessel is the Götheborg at 65 meters, and the largest of still sailing vessels is the USS Constitution at 93 meters using the length to the bowsprit in both cases.

== History == The ship's maiden voyage was on 1 September 2000 from Southampton to Sark, St Helier and Weymouth before returning to Southampton. The ship is owned by a UK-based charity, the Jubilee Sailing Trust, which also owns the 42-metre-long tall ship STS ''Lord Nelson'' (length including bowsprit is {{cvt|55|m|ftin|disp=comma}} and waterline length is {{cvt|37|m|ftin|disp=comma}}).<ref name=Press/><ref>[http://www.jst.org.uk/ Jubilee Sailing Trust official homepage] ''jst.org.uk'', accessed 10 December 2018</ref>

''Tenacious'' featured in the first series of Channel 5's ''Sea Patrol UK'', when one of the crew members had fallen ill and needed to be winched into an Royal Air Force Westland Sea King helicopter and taken to hospital. Due to the height of the masts and rigging, this posed a challenge to the helicopter's pilot and winch crew but the rescue attempt was successful and the crew member survived a potentially fatal condition.<ref>[https://www.tvbuzer.com/tv-shows/Sea-Patrol-UK/Season-1/episode-3 Sea Patrol UK - Season 1, Episode 3] Episode Summary: Andy commences the dangerous 170ft winch down to a casualty... ''tvbuzer.com'', accessed 10 December 2018</ref>

In December 2023 the JST announced that ''Tenacious''{{'}}s owning company was insolvent and had been put into liquidation and that all future cruises had been cancelled.<ref name="BBC15122023">{{cite news |title=Jubilee Sailing Trust: Tall ship company goes into administration |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-67721124 |access-date=15 December 2023 |work=BBC News |date=15 December 2023}}</ref> In 2024, a campaign group called 'Save Tall Ship Tenacious' was formed to save the ship.<ref>{{cite news |title=Campaign launched to save tall ship for sale |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-hampshire-68555947.amp |access-date=14 March 2024 |work=BBC News |date=13 March 2024}}</ref>

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== * [https://web.archive.org/web/20180831011244/http://jst.org.uk/our-tall-ships/tenacious/ Former official website (2018)]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tenacious, SV}} Category:2000 ships Category:Accessible transportation Category:Disabled boating Category:Tall ships of the United Kingdom Category:Individual sailing vessels Category:Barques Category:Sail training ships Category:Ships built in Southampton