Good racing conditions saw early finishes for most of the fleet competing in the North Sea Tall Ships Regatta 2016 from Blyth, Northumberland to Gothenburg, Sweden. But the winners are still to be confirmed.
First across the finish line, taking line honours, was Dar Mlodziezy (Poland), closely followed by Christian Radich (Norway) and Urania (The Netherlands).
The first vessel to arrive into Gothenburg was Class C, Challenger 3 (UK), closely followed by the University ship from Klaipeda – Class B, Brabander (Lithuania). Both vessels are moored up In Frihamnen, in the heart of Gothenburg harbour and many more are expected to arrive into harbour tomorrow (Friday 2 September) and Saturday morning (3 September), Class B, Swan (UK) – the oldest vessel in the fleet – has officially retired from the race so she can use her engines to make better speed than she was under sail. This will ensure she arrives in Gothenburg before the arrival deadline – midday, Saturday 3 September.
Several of the fleet have taken the early finish as an opportunity to explore the beautiful Gothenburg archipelago visiting ports in Ockero and Martrand, as well as Skagen, the port on the tip of Denmark. Others have chosen to anchor or to continue to sail, but all will arrive in Gothenburg by midday, Saturday 3 September at the latest.
Mike Bowles, Race Director, Sail Training International said,
“Shtandart (Russia) and Vega Gamleby (Sweden) have been competing for the lead on corrected time, but final results won’t be confirmed until Shtandart has crossed the finish line and race declaration forms have been submitted and inspected by the STI Race Committee.
“Vessels reported a very favourable, steady, consistent breeze from south south west through to west – reaching a maximum of 25 knots – for the entirety of the race. Because the wind direction didn’t change much there were limited sail manoeuvring opportunities so trainees had the hard task of concentrating on watch keeping and sail trimming to optimise their vessel speeds at any given moment.”
Current class race placings on corrected time at 0500 (UTC) – as shown on the leader board of YB, the satellite tracking system. These results are updated every 15 minutes. Exact final race placings are all subject to confirmation once the STI Race Committee has checked written race declaration forms which will be submitted in Gothenburg.
Class A
1. Shtandart (Russia)
2. Christian Radich (Norway)
3. Oosterschelde (The Netherlands)
Class B
1. Vega Gamleby (Sweden)
2. Maybe (UK)
3. Brabander (Lithuania)
Class C and D
1. Black Diamond of Durham (UK)
2. Urania (The Netherlands)
3. Challenger 3 (UK)
Photo: Fryderyk Chopin (Poland), sailing under blue skies en route to Gothenburg (Richard Sibley).
