The North Sea Tall Ships Regatta 2016: Blyth Bursts into Tall Ship Action
Years of preparation
burst into action today (Friday 26 August) as festivities at the first
port of The North Sea Tall Ships Regatta 2016 began in Blyth in
Northumberland, UK.
Celebrating the 60th diamond anniversary of the races,
Sail Training International and Blyth have worked together to ensure
that this unique four day event gets off to the most spectacular of
starts over the August Bank Holiday weekend.
James Stevens, Race Chairman at Sail Training International talked about the upcoming voyage and the trainee experience.
äóìThis event is about challenge, adventure and teamwork.
The young crew will climb the masts, steer, keep a lookout, haul ropes
and all the other tasks required to sail a ship.
äóìThey will learn to work together in friendly rivalry with other ships.äó
Mike Bowles, Race Director at Sail Training International said,
äóìUp to thirty vessels are in port – 19 of which will
be racing across to Gothenburg, Sweden. They include the magnificent 108
metre long Class A ship Dar Mlodziezy from Poland – the longest vessel in the fleet, who also has the largest crew at 196 people; and 116 year old Class B Swan (UK) – the oldest vessel in the fleet.äó
About Blyth
Blyth is a friendly and extraordinarily welcoming town
in northern England, with a thriving port and an excellent reputation
for supporting renewable energy. It is hosting the international fleet
for the very first time, as the start port of the North Sea Tall Ships
Regatta 2016, and is expecting hundreds of thousands of visitors.
The event is open to the public from 10am – 10pm
Friday, Saturday and Sunday and 10am – 5pm on Monday. Activities for
both crews and visitors promise to be outstanding over the weekend, with
firework displays every night, sports, plenty of live music and local
food stalls. A vibrant crew parade and prize giving ceremony is also
eagerly anticipated, all of which will provide the perfect party before
crews prepare for racing across the North Sea to Gothenburg, Sweden.
Lesley Strickland, Fleet Project Manager, made special
note of the importance of the sail training experience that the regatta
will provide,
äóìWe are delighted to have been able to recruit over 80
local trainees for the regatta who we have placed on a wide range of
vessels – Black Diamond of Durham (UK), Challenger 3 (UK), Christian Radich (Norway), Lord Nelson (UK), Maybe (UK), Morgenster (Netherlands), Oosterschelde (Netherlands), Shtandart (Russia), Swan (UK),
