The first 100 years of seafarers’ charity Apostleship of the Sea is being marked with a new rose in its name.
Philip Eastell, who works with the Catholic organisation through his charity Container Shipping Supporting Seafarers (CSSS), came up with the idea during a trip to the annual Royal Horticultural Society Chelsea Flower Show in London.
The keen botanist saw newly named roses and spoke to producer World of Roses to ask how much it would cost to sponsor one. The answer: thousands of dollars that he did not have.
But Eastell kept in contact with the company and later met representatives again to talk over the potential naming of a rose for Apostleship of the Sea — or Stella Maris as it is known outside the UK — in its centenary year.
World of Roses loved the idea but told Eastell it would be £5,000 ($6,500) to register the Stella Maris name and £6,000 for licensing fees.
Bosses at the company “could see I was looking a bit dejected, so asked about what Stella Maris does”, Eastell recalled.
“I told him the story of one hijacked vessel whose crew were seized off West Africa and then freed, but who still had to take the vessel back to Europe.
“The story touched his heart and they said to me, ‘Philip, we’ll waive all the costs, we’ll do it for free’.”
So Stella Maris is now able to sell 5,000 Stella Maris Centenary Roses. Companies such as ports and terminals can have plantings of 10, 20 or more roses, with 30% of the sales going direct to Stella Maris to help with seafarer support work.
The rose is described as “a gorgeous golden-yellow colour, producing beautiful clusters of highly fragrant blooms and attractive foliage from May right through to September”.
David White, managing director of World of Roses, said: “Since being introduced to the work of the Apostleship of the Sea-Stella Maris, and the incredible support they provide to seafarers worldwide, I was more than happy to help CSSS and their initiative to introduce a charity rose.”
Martin Foley, chief executive of Stella Maris, said: "Stella Maris is very grateful to CSSS and World of Roses for this wonderfully innovative initiative to raise valuable funds for our vital work in support of seafarers and their families."
