North Sea Tall Ships Regatta 2016 Gothenburg: Going Green in Sweden

The final port of the North Sea Tall Ships Regatta 2016

1997.

More vessels arrived last night filling Frihamnen with the

spectacular sights of tall masts, lines and flags this morning. As soon

as the gates opened spectators flocked to visit the ships, take

photographs, meet the crew members and trainees, and get involved with

the vast programme of activities that is taking place in Gothenburg

during the event. These include: live music and DJs, food markets,

exhibitions, quizzes, sailing taster sessions, kite displays, theatre,

and dancing.

• You can check out the full programme of activities and events at tallshipsgothenburg2016.com/en/programme-2/.

Final Race Results

The STI Race Committee has now finalised the race resultsäó_ and congratulations goes to Vega Gamleby (Sweden), who came first overall. She celebrated in style by sailing with full sails to the end of Frihamnen to celebrate!

• You can see the final race results here.

Opening Ceremony

The

event site opened at 10:00, which gave visitors the chance to drink in

the sights and sounds of Frihamnen ahead of the Opening Ceremony at

15:00, which kicked proceedings off in style.

James Stevens, STI

Race Chairman for the North Sea Tall Ships Regatta 2016, welcomed

visitors, along with Mayor of Gothenburg Lena Malm.

“This

event is a lot more than a sailing race. On each ship, at least half of

the crew is made up of young trainees under 25 years old. Before the

start of the race, many had never sailed before. Some are from

disadvantaged backgrounds, some have disabilities, but all will remember

this week for the rest of their lives.

“Sixty trainees come from

Sweden. Young people whose voyage fees were paid for by the City of

Gothenburg and other sponsors. They have all sailed more than 500 miles,

racing through day and night, steering, keeping a lookout, handling

ropes, and all the other tasks required to sail a ship. They have learnt

to work together as a team in friendly rivalry with other ships, and

they have met crews from the 10 nations in the regatta.”

James Stevens, STI Race Chairman.

“Ladies

and gentlemen and visitors in our city, and of course all crew members

of the vessels in Tall Ships Regatta. It’s my pleasure to welcome you

all to this event on behalf of the City of Gothenburg.

“Gothenburg

was built nearly 400 years ago to be the Swedish gate to the West. It

was a measure to secure the border of Sweden. Today, Gothenburg is a

city open to the world. From the beginning, trade and shipping has been

the main purpose of our city. The knowledge to build ships has been

important and there were many shipyards here in Gothenburg before. If

you ask the people in our city and from other parts of Sweden what they

think about when they hear the name ‘Gí_teborg,’ many answers will be

‘the sea,’ ‘the harbour,’ and ‘the water.’

“For people in

Gothenburg, it’s now more important to get closer to the water than we

used to be. And, of course, ships and vessels always make us feel at

home. I am proud and grateful that the city this week