The second day of the Rendez-Vous 2017 Tall Ships Regatta in Royal Greenwich has been a huge success. Thousands of visitors have come to both the Woolwich Arsenal and Royal Greenwich event sites to enjoy the spectacle of the Tall Ships as they prepare for Race One of this Transatlantic Regatta…
With preparations on all ships taking centre stage as the departure for the start of Race One nears, there are a few vessels who will be preparing to follow the whole Regatta race route. Of the fleet of over 40 vessels who will be taking part in various race legs of the Transatlantic Regatta, Blue Clipper (UK), Jolie Brise (UK), Peter von Danzig (Germany) and Rona II (UK) will cross both the start line in Torbay, UK, and the finish line in Le Havre, France.
To find out a bit more about the challenge facing these vessels as they sail over 7,000 nautical miles, we spoke to the First Mate, Michael Take of Peter von Danzig about the voyages ahead…
How long have the preparations been for this Transatlantic Regatta, have they differed from preparations for shorter voyages?
“The overall planning with the boat started in September (2016), we got her out of the water and dismantled her completely. The technical side was more in depth and we had a detailed look at all aspects of the ship and her structure. There was also an awful lot more effort with the paper work – we put together our first crew list for the voyages back in December 2015.
“We normally find with our normal six to eight week summer trips there isn’t as much planning required at all. When sailing in the Baltic and north of Scotland we find that we only need half of the preparation time. The ship is built for this purpose, to deliver shorter voyages, at shorter notice.”
With crew changes happening in every port, will you or any of your crew be sailing the whole of the Regatta?
“There will be a total of three of us doing the whole trip; myself, Caroline Teichmann and Wolfgang Wicker.”
You’ll be visiting seven countries throughout this Regatta and crossing the Atlantic twice, where are you most looking forward to visit?
“I don’t think there is a special point I am looking forward to more, I think it’s the whole journey itself and being able to complete this experience. There are of course certain points: London is an interesting point for me, I have also never been to Bermuda and seeing the America’s Cup will be a special experience.
“It really is about the whole experience though; I have crossed the Atlantic before, but never on a vessel this small in size.”
Finally, you have told us what you are most looking forward to during the Regatta, what do you think the biggest challenge will be?
“We had some worries about crossing the North Sea in April to get to Royal Greenwich. We thought it would very bad with snow, but it was ok. I think we can still count on that in the Bay of Biscay, and I feel that may well be the worst part.”
FOLLOW THE FLEET LIVE WITH YB TRACKING
Once again, you will be able to follow the Tall Ships fleet as they make their way along the Regatta route thanks to the YB satellite tracking system. You can keep up to date with who is leading each race leg and ensure you miss none of the sailing action.
Each participating ship in the Regatta will be fitted with a YB satellite transponder, a self-contained battery operated tracker which allows tracking of a vessel’s position from anywhere on earth. All vessels taking part in the Regatta will be equipped with one so spectators can follow the fleet – anytime, anywhere – from when the fleet leaves Royal Greenwich on Sunday 16 April, to the final day of the event in Le Havre, France on 3 September 2017.
You can follow the action from the YB Tracking system here at Sail On Board. You will be able to see a wide range of race information including; route mapping, real time vessel positions and their historic tracking, vessel details, replay of vessel tracks over time, leaderboards per division/group and current weather conditions.
You can also download the YB Tracking app for your phone and tablet from the App Store and Google Play Store. You will find all the functionality of the web dashboards accessible on the go.
You can find instructions on how to use the YB Tracking system over on our YB Tracking page.
ABOUT THE RENDEZ-VOUS 2017 TALL SHIPS REGATTA
The Rendez-Vous 2017 Tall Ships Regatta is truly the adventure of a lifetime. The event covers 7,000 nautical miles, visits seven different countries – UK, Portugal, Canary Islands, Bermuda, USA, Canada, France – and cruises to over 30 beautiful Canadian guest ports.
The event celebrates the 150th anniversary of the Canadian Confederation through its founders and founding provinces, which is a unique chance to commemorate the rich history of sailing in Canada and around the world.
Up to 40 vessels will be crossing the North Atlantic Ocean and you could be on one of them!
WHAT’S NEXT?
Want to get involved with the Rendez-Vous 2017 Tall Ships Regatta? Check out our event page for more information. You can book your place directly with a participating vessel, or if you’d like help simply email our friendly team on enquiries@sailonboard.com who can make recommendations, answer questions and process your booking for you.