The Tall Ships' Races

The Tall Ships' Races are races for sail training "Tall Ships" (sailing ships). The races of 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. Since 2004 the races have been supported by The City, Province, and Port of Antwerp.

Tall ships

The phrase "tall ship" was coined to describe the participating ships. 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 and 25 and 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 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.cite web | title = Tall Ships get Royal send-off | url = http://www.bbc.co.uk/devon/content/articles/2006/05/11/tall_ships_2006_feature.shtml | format = HTML | publisher = BBC News | accessdate = 2006-07-11]

Race routes by year

* 2011: Waterford (Ireland) - Greenock (Scotland) - Lerwick (Shetland) - Stavanger (Norway) - Halmstad (Sweden)
* 2010: Antwerp (Belgium) - Aalborg (Denmark) - Kristiansand (Norway) - Hartlepool (UK)
* 2010: Volos (Greece) - Varna (Bulgaria) - Istanbul (Turkey) - Lavrion (Greece)
* 2009: Vigo (Spain) - Tenerife (Canary Islands) - Bermuda - Charleston (USA) - Boston (USA) - Halifax (Canada) - Belfast (UK)
* 2009: Gdynia (Poland) - St Petersburg (Russia) - Turku (Finland) - Klaipeda (Lithuania)
* 2008: Liverpool (UK) - Måløy (Norway) - Bergen (Norway) - Den Helder (Netherlands)
* 2007: Aarhus (Denmark) - Kotka (Finland) - Stockholm (Sweden) - Szczecin (Poland)
* 2007: Barcelona (Spain) - Genoa (Italy) - Toulon (France) - Alicante (Spain)
* 2006: Saint Malo (France) - Lisbon (Portugal) - Cádiz (Spain) - La Coruña (Spain) - Antwerp (Belgium)
* 2005: Waterford (Ireland) - Cherbourg-Octeville (France) - Newcastle-Gateshead (England) - Fredrikstad (Norway) - Torbay (UK) - Santander (Spain)
* 2004: Antwerp (Belgium) - Aalborg (Denmark) - Stavanger (Norway) - Cuxhaven (Germany)
* 2003: Gdynia (Poland) - Turku (Finland) - Riga (Latvia) - Travemünde (Germany)
* 2002: Alicante (Spain) - Málaga (Spain) - La Coruña (Spain) - Santander (Spain) - Antwerp (Belgium)
* 2001: Antwerp (Belgium) - Ålesund (Norway) - Bergen (Norway) - Esbjerg (Denmark)

ail Training International

Sail Training International (STI) is the international association of some twenty-one national organisations devoted to promoting "the education and development of young people of all nationalities, religions and social backgrounds, through sail training". Besides organising The Tall Ships' Races, STI is the leading provider of races and events, conferences and seminars, publications, research and services for the international sail training community.

ome ships that have participated

* "Amerigo Vespucci" - Italian Navy training ship
* "Asgard II" - Irish sail training ship
* "Christian Radich" - Norwegian full rigged training ship
* "Cuauhtémoc" - Mexican Navy officer-training ship (winner on two occasions)
* "Dar Pomorza" - winner of 1972 and 1980 races
* "Eagle" - Training vessel for the U.S. Coast Guard, most recently participated in 2005
* "Schooner Ernestina" - The official vessel of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
* "Esmeralda (BE-43)" - Training vessel for the Chilean Navy, won in 1982 and 1990.
* "HMS Falken" - a two-masted Swedish Naval training schooner
* "HMS Gladan" - a two-masted Swedish Naval training schooner
* "Gorch Fock (built in 1958)"
* " [http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Smidt_(Schiff) Johann Smidt (ex Eendracht)] " (German Wikipedia) - a two-masted German schooner, class B (length between 30.5 and 46.5 m) winner in 1992 and 2000.
* "Jolie Brise" - a French pilot cutter, three times winner of the Fastnet Ocean Race, two times overall winner of the Tall Ships' Races. Owned maintained and sailed by Dauntsey's School.
* "Kruzenshtern" - Russian four-masted barque, one of the last genuine windjammers under sail
* " [http://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jens_Krogh Jens Krogh] " - a Danish gaff ketch
* "May Be" - A 1920's Dutch sailing ketch which took part in the first tall ships race.
* "Mircea" - A three-masted Romanian sail training ship
* " [http://www.morningstar.org.uk/mst.html Morning Star of Revelation] " - a British 62ft gaff ketch
* "Sagita" - A Danish schooner
* "Skibladner II" - a Danish gaff ketch
* "Statsraad Lehmkuhl" - a three-masted Norwegian barque
* "STS Mir" - a three-masted Russian training ship.
* " [http://www.cremyll-sailing.org.uk/tall_ships.htm Moosk] " - a 100 year old Cornish Yawl
* "Prince William"
* " [http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seute_Deern_II Seute Deern II (ex Noona Dan)] " (German Wikipedia) - a two-masted German ketch, former school ship.
* "HMS Trincomalee" - Britain's oldest warship afloat. Will remain in Hartlepool
* "Stad Amsterdam" - Dutch clipper, built as a charter and cruise ship. She won in 2001.
* "TS Royalist" - TS Royalist is a brig owned and operated as a sail training ship by the Sea Cadet Corps of the United Kingdom

Notes

References

*Harry Bruce, "Tall Ships: an Odyssey" (Toronto, 2000)
*American Sail Training Association, "Sail Tall Ships" (Newport, 2000)
*Rigel Crockett, "Fair Wind and Plenty of It"

External links

* [http://www.sailtraininginternational.org Sail Training International]
* [http://www.szczecin2007.pl/regaty2007/chapter_42101.asp Tall Ships' Races 2007]
* [http://www.szczecin2007.centrologic.com/ Tall Ships' Races 2007 Final in Szczecin]
* [http://www.sailtraininginternational.org/page.asp?partid=430 Tall Ships' Races 2006]
* [http://www.tallships2005.org/ Tall Ships' Races 2005]
* [http://www.tallships.no/ Tall Ships' Races 2004]
* [http://www.pabloavanzini.com pabloavanzini.com | TALL SHIPS] , a collection of tall ships photographs and articles about tall ships and the Tall Ships' Races, where anyone can read or post about their experience onboard the tall ships and find out [http://www.pabloavanzini.com/articles/How_to_get_Involved.php how to get involved]

ee also

* The Great Tea Race of 1866