Tall Ships' Races

The Tall Ships' Races are races for sail training "tall ships" (sailing ships). The races are designed to encourage international friendship and training for young people in the art of sailing. The races are held annually in European waters and consists of two racing legs of several hundred nautical miles, and a "cruise in company" between the legs. Over one half (fifty-percent) of the crew of each ship participating in the races must consist of young people.

Between 1973 and 2003 the races were known as The Cutty Sark Tall Ships' Races, having been sponsored by Cutty Sark whisky. From 2004 to 2010 the races were supported by The City, Province, and Port of Antwerp. The current sponsor of the Tall Ships' Races 2010–2014 is the city of Szczecin.[1]

Contents

Tall ships

The phrase "tall ship" was adopted to describe the participating sailing vessels. It comes from Poet Laureate John Masefield poem Sea Fever;

I must go down to the sea again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
All I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by.

Participating vessels are manned by a largely cadet or trainee crew who are partaking in sail training, 50 percent of which must be aged between 15–25 years of age and who do not need any previous experience. Thus, tall ship does not describe a specific type of sailing vessel, but rather a monohull sailing vessel of at least 9.4 metres (30 ft) that is conducting sail training and education under sail voyages. Participating ships range from yachts to the large square-rigged sail training ships run by charities, schools and navies of many countries.

The race

The first Tall Ships' race was held in 1956. It was a race of 20 of the world's remaining large sailing ships organized by Bernard Morgan, a London lawyer. The race was from Torquay, Devon to Lisbon, and was meant to be a last farewell to the era of the great sailing ships. Public interest was so intense, however, that race organizers founded the Sail Training International association to direct the planning of future events. Since then Tall Ships' Races have occurred annually in various parts of the world, with millions of spectators. Today, the race attracts more than a hundred ships, among these some of the largest sailing ships in existence. The 50th Anniversary Tall Ships' Races took place during July and August, 2006, and was started by the patron, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who also started the first race in 1956.[2]

Future races

2011

Race One starts in Waterford (Ireland) (Thursday 30 June - Sunday 3 July) to Greenock (Scotland) (Saturday 9 July - Tuesday 12 July).

Cruise in company to Lerwick (Shetland) (Thursday 21 July - Sunday 24 July).

Race Two from Shetland to Stavanger (Norway) (Thursday 28 July - Sun 31 July).

Race Three is from Stavanger to Halmstad (Sweden) (Friday 5 August - Monday 8 August).

The race has being delayed off the coast of Lerwick, Shetlands due to weather conditions. They departed Lerwich at 17:00 on 21 July but they have been delayed at sea until 17.00 on 22 July weather depending.

2012

Race One starts in Saint Malo (France) (Thursday 5 July to Sunday 8 July) to Lisbon (Portugal) (Saturday 19 July to Sun 22 July).

Race Two is from Lisbon to Cadiz (Spain) (Thursday 26 July to Sunday 29 July).

Cruise in company to A Coruña (Spain) (Friday 10 August to Monday 13 August).

Race Three from A Coruña to Dublin (Ireland) (Thursday 23 August to Sunday 26 August).

2013

Race One starts in Århus (Denmark) (Thursday 4 July - Sunday 7 July) to Helsinki (Finland) (Wednesday July 17 - Saturday 20 July).

Cruise in company to Riga (Latvia) (Thursday 25 July - Sunday 28 July).

Race Two from Riga to Szczecin (Poland) (Saturday 3 August - Tuesday 6 August)

Previous races

Sail Training International

Main article: Sail Training International

The Tall Ships' Races are organised by Sail Training International (STI) an international association of national sail training organisations devoted to promoting "the education and development of young people of all nationalities, religions and social backgrounds, through sail training".

Some ships that have participated

See also

References

  1. ^ Sail Training International - The Tall Ships Races 2011
  2. ^ "Tall Ships get Royal send-off". BBC News. http://www.bbc.co.uk/devon/content/articles/2006/05/11/tall_ships_2006_feature.shtml. Retrieved 2006-07-11. 
  3. ^ consorcielfar.org
  4. ^ guldenleeuwe.com
  5. ^ marinha.pt
  6. ^ morningstar.org.uk
  7. ^ sailtraining.de
  8. ^ schoolship.no
  9. ^ cremyll-sailing.org.uk

Further reading

External links

Offshore sailing races
Single-handed races
Double-handed races
Crewed races
America's cup • Sydney-Hobart • Tall Ships' Races • Admiral's Cup • Volvo Ocean Race • Tour de France à la voile • Sywoc • Transat Québec-Saint-Malo • Route de la découverte • Jules Verne Trophy • Route de l'Or • Fastnet Race • The Race (yachting race) • Calais Round Britain Race • Transpacific Yacht Race • Istanbul Europa Race