International Line up for The Tall Ships Races 2010
An international fleet of 87 Tall Ships from 18 countries worldwide have signed up to take part in The Tall Ships Races 2010, which starts in Antwerp in early July. A total of 27 Class A Tall Ships are included in the line up, the biggest entry of these beautiful Tall Ships since 2005.
Amongst the stars that will be taking part this year will be the second largest sail training Tall Ship in the world, Kruzenshtern from Russia. Kruzenshtern is a regular competitor in Tall Ships events and her presence always draws a big crowd.
Another crowd pleaser and bringing a taste of the east, is the Indonesian navy’ Tall Ship, Dewaruci, which carries a full band on board that has a tendency to strike up a rousing tune at any given moment. Dewaruci last took part in The Tall Ships Races in 2005 and will be warmly welcomed back into the fleet.
Giving Dewaruci’ band a run for her money will be the ever-popular Shabab Oman from the Sultanate of Oman. Shabab Oman is also a naval Tall Ship and is an extremely popular addition to the fleet, winning the Sail Training International Friendship Trophy on every occasion she has entered a race.
The Russian Mir is another regular competitor as well as the three Norwegian Tall Ships Christian Radich, Sírlandet and Statsraad Lehmkuhl, all of which will be competing strongly for the race title.
Two other Class A ships of note are Wylde Swan and Gulden Leeuw from the Netherlands, both old hulls recently converted to three masted schooners. Wylde Swan was originally a German steam trawler before working as a herring boat in Norway, while Gulden Leeuw was built as an ocean going ice class ship used for marine research. The two schooners will be eagerly watched to see how they perform in this their debut Tall Ships Race.
The event starts in Antwerp on Saturday 10 July when the fleet will gather in this popular Belgian port, which has played such an important part in the recent history of The Tall Ships Races, having sponsored the event from 2004 through to 2009. This will be the fifth time Antwerp has played host to The Tall Ships Races and the city and port will be making sure that the fleet and the international youth sailing on board will enjoy their stay once more.
From Antwerp the fleet will race north-east to Aalborg in Denmark, 21-24 July, where the fleet will be welcomed by the port for a third time. From Aalborg the fleet will cruise in company to Kristiansand, making the most of the beautiful Norwegian archipelago on the way. Kristiansand is a new host port for The Tall Ships Races although it is the home port for the Tall Ship Sírlandet, so is very used to having these stars in port.
From Kristiansand, the fleet will then race west across the North Sea to Hartlepool in the UK. Hartlepool is also a new host port to The Tall Ships Races but played a very important role as a port in the cruise in company in 2005 and so has already had a taste of the excitement that playing host to these ships brings.
As always, 50 percent of all the crews sailing on the ships will be aged between 15 and 25 years making this a popular event for the young. No experience of sailing is necessary but the young ‘trainee’ crews will all play an important role in the sailing of their vessel. During the port visits they get to enjoy cultural tours as well as sports events and with often more than 30 nationalities taking part, it is a real melting pot of culture and youth.
The Tall Ships Races are currently sponsored by the city of Szczecin, Poland,
