Race organisers, Sail Training International, have announced the dates for the 2014 Tall Ships Regatta.
Up to 50 ships will gather in Falmouth, including a number of the impressive Class A square-rigged vessels, for three days of festivities, before the Race start on Sunday, August 31.
The large square-rigged vessels will be berthed at Queen’s Wharf in Falmouth Docks and will be open to the public from August 28 to 30. The Ships Crew parade will bring a flurry of colour and activity to the town centre streets, culminating with prize giving, before the ships and their crew prepare for the Race start.
Ships will pass between the twin Castles of Pendennis and St Mawes in a magnificent parade of sail into Falmouth Bay to the start line, before heading eastwards towards the English Channel, navigating a series of waypoints in the western approaches to take advantage of the forecasted wind to maximise the racing conditions, with the finish line off the Isle of Wight.
The ships will then have the opportunity to stop-over briefly in French or English ports en route to Greenwich. The crews will enjoy a full programme of activities in Greenwich over four days including the prize giving on Sunday, September 7. The finish port, Royal Greenwich, will be hosting the first major Tall Ships event since London hosted the Tall Ships Race in 1989.
Since the Tall Ships first visited Falmouth in 1966, the port has hosted the Funchal 500 Tall Ships Regatta in 2008, the Cutty Sark Tall Ships Race in 1998 and The Tall Ships Race n 1982. The economic impact of the 2008 event left a lasting impression on the area, attracting 100,000 visitors and generating over £12 million for the local economy.
The Regatta will see an interesting fleet of training vessels and Tall Ships from around the world competing in competitive racing over three days. It will follow the main Tall Ships Races in 2014 – which visits Harlingen, Netherlands; Fredrikstad, Norway; Bergen, Norway and Esbjerg, Denmark.
Follow the latest information about the event plans in Falmouth on Twitter @tallships_2014 and at thepacket.co.uk.
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