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 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 sponsor of the Tall Ships Races 2010–2014 was the city of Szczecin.Sail Training International - The Tall Ships Races 2011
Tall ships By the 21st century, "tall ship" is often used generically for large, classic, sailing vessels, but is also a technically defined term by Sail Training International. The definitions are subject to various technicalities, but by 2011 there are only two size classes, class A is square-rigged vessels and all other vessels over 40 m LOA, and classes B/C/D are 9.14 m to under 40 m LOA. Participating vessels are crewed by largely cadets or trainees who are partaking in sail training, 50 percent of which must be aged between 15 and 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.
Race After World War II, tall ships were a dying breed, having lost out to steam-powered ships several decades before. It was a retired solicitor from London, Bernard Morgan, who first dreamed up the idea of bringing young cadets and seamen under training together from around the world to participate in a friendly competition. The Portuguese Ambassador to the UK, Pedro Teotónio Pereira, was a big supporter of this original idea and believed that such a race would bring together the youth of the world's seafaring peoples. These two figures started discussions in 1953 and three years later they saw their vision become a reality. The first Tall Ships' race was held in 1956. It was a race of 20 of the world's remaining large sailing ships. 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, like the Portuguese Sagres. 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.
Years
1978 – Gothenburg (Sweden) – Great Yarmouth (United Kingdom) – Oslo (Norway) 1979 – Fowey (United Kingdom) – Isle of Man 1980 – Kiel (West Germany) – Karlskrona (Sweden) – Frederikshavn (Denmark) – Amsterdam (Netherlands) 1981 – Great Yarmouth (United Kingdom) – Ostend (Belgium) 1982 – Falmouth (United Kingdom) – Lisbon (Portugal) – Vigo (Spain) – Southampton (United Kingdom) 1983 – Travemünde (West Germany) – Karlskrona (Sweden) – Weymouth (United Kingdom) – Saint-Malo (France) 1984 – Trans-Atlantic: Saint-Malo (France) – Canary Islands (Spain) (stop off) – San Juan (Puerto Rico) – Bermuda – Portsmouth (Canada) – Halifax (Canada) – Gaspe (Canada) – Quebec City (Canada) – Sydney (Canada) – Norrköping (Sweden) (rally) – Flensburg (West Germany) (rally) – Frederikshavn (Denmark) – Greenock (United Kingdom) – Liverpool (United Kingdom)Liverpool Echo 25 July 1984 1985 – Bremerhaven (West Germany) – Chatham (United Kingdom) – Bruges-Zeebrugge (Belgium) – Amsterdam (Netherlands) 1986 – Delfzijl (Netherlands) – Newcastle upon Tyne (United Kingdom) – Bremerhaven (West Germany) – Larvik (Norway) – Gothenburg (Sweden) 1987 – Weymouth (United Kingdom) – Cherbourg (France) 1988 – Karlskrona (Sweden) – Helsinki (Finland) – Mariehamn (Finland) – Copenhagen (Denmark) 1989 – London (United Kingdom) – Hamburg (West Germany) – Malmö (Sweden) – Travemünde (West Germany) 1990 – Plymouth (United Kingdom) – A Coruña (Spain) – Bordeaux (France) – Bruges-Zeebrugge (Belgium) 1991 – Milford Haven (United Kingdom) – Cork (Ireland) – Belfast (United Kingdom) – Aberdeen (United Kingdom) – Delfzijl (Netherlands) 1992 – Trans-Atlantic: Genoa (Italy) – Lisbon (Portugal) – Cádiz (Spain) -Canary Islands (Spain) – San Juan (Puerto Rico) – Bahamas – New York City (United States) – Boston (United States) – Liverpool (United Kingdom)Liverpool Echo 10 August 1992 1992 – Karlskrona (Sweden) – Kotka (Finland) – Tallinn (Estonia) – Gdynia (Poland) 1993 – Newcastle upon Tyne (United Kingdom) – Bergen (Norway) – Larvik (Norway) – Esbjerg (Denmark) – Antwerp (Belgium), fleet visit 1994 – Weymouth (United Kingdom) – A Coruña (Spain) – Porto (Portugal) – Saint-Malo (France) 1995 – Edinburgh (United Kingdom) – Bremerhaven (Germany) – Frederikshavn (Denmark) – Amsterdam (Netherlands) – Zeebrugge (Belgium) 1996 – St Petersburg (Russia) – Kotka (Finland) – Turku (Finland) – Copenhagen (Denmark) 1997 – Aberdeen (United Kingdom) – Trondheim (Norway) – Stavanger (Norway) – Gothenburg (Sweden) 1998 – Falmouth (United Kingdom) – Lisbon (Portugal) – Vigo (Spain) – Dublin (Ireland)Cutty Sark Tall Ships Races 1998 Official Program 1999 – St Malo (France) – Greenock (United Kingdom) – Lerwick (United Kingdom) – Aalborg (Denmark) 2000 – Trans-Atlantic: Southampton (United Kingdom) – Cádiz (Spain) – Genoa (Italy) – Cádiz (Spain) – Bermuda (Bermuda) – Boston (United States) – Halifax (Canada) – Amsterdam (Netherlands) 2001 – Antwerp (Belgium) – Ålesund (Norway) – Bergen (Norway) – Esbjerg (Denmark) 2002 – Alicante (Spain) – Málaga (Spain) – A Coruña (Spain) – Santander (Spain) – Portsmouth (United Kingdom) 2003 – Gdynia (Poland) – Turku (Finland) – Riga (Latvia) – Travemünde (Germany) 2004 – Antwerp (Belgium) – Aalborg (Denmark) – Stavanger (Norway) – Cuxhaven (Germany) 2005 – Waterford (Ireland) – Cherbourg-Octeville (France) – Newcastle-Gateshead (United Kingdom) – Fredrikstad (Norway) – Torbay (United Kingdom) – Santander (Spain) 2006 – Saint-Malo (France) – Lisbon (Portugal) – Cádiz (Spain) – A Coruña (Spain) – Antwerp (Belgium) 2007 – Baltic: Aarhus (Denmark) – Kotka (Finland) – Stockholm (Sweden) – Szczecin (Poland) 2007 – Mediterranean: Barcelona (Spain) – Genoa (Italy) – Toulon (France) – Alicante (Spain) 2008 – Liverpool (United Kingdom) – Måløy (Norway) – Bergen (Norway) – Den Helder (Netherlands) 2009 – Baltic: Gdynia (Poland) – St Petersburg (Russia) – Turku (Finland) – Klaipėda (Lithuania) 2009 – Trans-Atlantic: Vigo (Spain) – Tenerife (Canary Islands) – Bermuda – Charleston (United States) – Boston (United States) – Halifax (Canada) – Belfast (United Kingdom) 2010 – Antwerp (Belgium) – Aalborg (Denmark) – Kristiansand (Norway) – Hartlepool (United Kingdom) 2011 – Waterford (Ireland) – Greenock (United Kingdom) – Lerwick (United Kingdom) – Stavanger (Norway) – Halmstad (Sweden) 2012 – Saint-Malo (France) – Lisbon (Portugal) – Cádiz (Spain) – A Coruña – Dublin (Ireland) 2013 – Aarhus (Denmark) – Helsinki (Finland) – Riga (Latvia) – Szczecin (Poland) 2014 – Harlingen (Netherlands) – Fredrikstad (Norway) – Bergen (Norway) – Esbjerg (Denmark) 2015 – Belfast (United Kingdom) – Ålesund (Norway) – Kristiansand (Norway) – Aalborg (Denmark) 2016 – Antwerp (Belgium) – Lisbon (Portugal) – Cádiz (Spain) – A Coruña (Spain) – Blyth (United Kingdom) 2017 – Halmstad (Sweden) – Kotka (Finland) – Turku (Finland) – Klaipėda (Lithuania) – Szczecin (Poland) 2018 – Sunderland (United Kingdom) – Esbjerg (Denmark) – Stavanger (Norway) – Harlingen (Netherlands) 2019 – Aalborg (Denmark) – Fredrikstad (Norway) – Bergen (Norway) – Aarhus (Denmark) – Antwerp (Belgium) 2020 – Lisbon (Portugal) – Cádiz (Spain) – A Coruña (Spain) – Dunkirk (France) 2021 – Klaipėda (Lithuania) – Turku (Finland) – Tallinn (Estonia) – Mariehamn (Finland) – Szczecin (Poland) 2022 – Esbjerg (Denmark) – Harlingen (Netherlands) – Antwerp (Belgium) – Aalborg (Denmark) 2023 – Den Helder (Netherlands) – Hartlepool (United Kingdom) – Fredrikstad (Norway) – Lerwick (Shetland Islands) – Arendal (Norway) 2024 – Klaipeda (Lithuania) – Helsinki (Finland) – Tallinn (Estonia) – Turku (Finland) – Mariehamn (Finland) – Szczecin (Poland) 2025 – Le Havre (France) – Dunkirk (France) – Aberdeen (United Kingdom) – Kristiansand (Norway) – Esbjerg (Denmark) 2026 – Aarhus (Denmark) – Harlingen (The Netherlands) – Antwerp (Belgium) – Stavanger (Norway) – Aalborg (Denmark) 2027 – Bordeaux (France) – A Coruña (Spain) – Sines (Portugal) 2028 – Kiel (Germany) – Turku (Finland) – Tallinn (Estonia) – Szczecin (Poland) 2029 – TBA 2030 – Antwerp (Belgium)
Incidents The bark Marques sank in a squall during the 1984 race. 19 of the 28 crew were killed.
In the 2013 race, the Norwegian vessel Wyvern was shipwrecked between the Swedish islands of Gotland and Öland in the Baltic Sea. The crew were rescued. A man from the Dutch schooner Wylde Swan was presumed drowned after he and two others from the schooner had boarded the Wyvern in an attempt to save it from going down.
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
Alexander von Humboldt - German Barque1998 Tall Ships Official Program (Converted to a botel by 2014). Amerigo Vespucci - Italian Navy training ship. Arethusa Ketch Asgard II - Irish sail training ship (lost 2008). Astrid - Dutch tall ship (lost 2013). Atyla Auno - a Norwegian gaff ketch. Belle Poule (built in 1932) - French Navy training schooner which together with the Etoile, its sister ship, has been participating in the Tall Ship Race since 1958. In 2009, the Belle Poule and the Etoile crossed the Atlantic Ocean for the first time during the Tall Ship Atlantic Challenge. Capitán Miranda schooner, Uruguayan Navy training ship. Challenge Wales - Wales' Tall Ship. Took part in its first Tall Ships Regatta in 2012 and its first Tall Ships Race in 2016. Christian Radich - Norwegian full-rigged training ship; her homeport is Oslo. Cisne Branco - Brazilian full-rigged training ship. Concordia - Canadian Barquentine (lost 2010). Creole, Tall Ship Race (1980) from Boston (USA) training ship (DK) UAM Creoula - a four-masted Portuguese sail training ship Cuauhtémoc - Mexican Navy officer-training ship (winner on two occasions). Danmark - Danish full-rigged training ship built in Nakskov, Denmark 1933. Dar Młodzieży - a three-masted Polish full-rigged ship (built in 1982). Dar Pomorza - winner of 1972 and 1980 races, a three-masted Polish full-rigged ship (built in 1909, decommissioned in 1980 and replaced by the Dar Mlodziezy, see above). Eagle - training vessel for the U.S. Coast Guard, most recently participated in 2005. Eendracht - Dutch schooner owned by Stichting het Zeilend Zeeschip (Foundation the Sailing Seaship). Schooner Ernestina - the official vessel of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Esmeralda - Training vessel for the Chilean Navy, won in 1982 and 1990.