Crews in The Tall Ships Races 2016 are trading tales of whale spotting, wave height, too much wind and lack of wind, as they start to arrive in Lisbon, Portugal.
The official race finish time was brought forward to 0500 today (Thursday 21 July) for all classes of The Tall Ships Races 2016 fleet and the vessels are now making their way into port for the second stop of The Tall Ships Races 2016 – ready to meet the deadline of 12 noon tomorrow (Friday 22 July).
Paul Bishop, Race Director said:
“Well done to all the crews taking part in the first leg of The Tall Ships Races 2016 from Antwerp to Lisbon. It’s been a challenging race with some very light and variable winds to navigate through. But early reports back from the fleet indicate the crews have had a fantastic experience and it’s been a great achievement by all. They now deserve a good rest before either heading home or preparing for the second race leg on to Cadiz in Spain.”
Provisional class placings on corrected time are as follows:
Class A
1. Statsraad Lehmkuhl (Norway)
2. Georg Stage (Denmark)
3. Fryderyk Chopin (Poland)
Class B
1. Jolie Brise (UK)
2. Rupel (Belgium)
3. Maybe (UK)
Class C
1. St Iv (Estonia)
2. Spaniel (Latvia)
3. Challenge Wales (UK)
Class D
1. Akela (Russia)
2. Tomidi (Belgium)
3. Politechnika (Poland)
The STI Race Committee will now be analysing race declaration forms as they come in and the final race results are due to be published on Saturday morning.
Race leg 1: News from the Crews
Morgenster (Netherlands):
“When we left in Antwerp, it was very quiet. The sun was shining and everyone could relax. When we got out to sea, the sea sickness came – but luckily it went fast. We have also been very lucky with the weather: no rain, and it was generally quite warm. After a few days of floating with no wind we’re finally heading towards the finish line. This trip will stay with me for sure. You learn a lot, meet new people, your English gets better, you learn to sail and the most important thing, of course, is that you have a great experience.”
Challenge Wales (UK):
“From 33 knots to a frustrating one knot of wind; from clear sunny days and magnificent sunsets to fog; from Wales to whales. We finished yesterday morning and last night enjoyed a meal ashore, celebrating our team achievements.”
Christian Radich (Norway):
“At the time of writing we impatiently wait for the wind to take us, but the Tall Ships Races is about more than winning. Team spirit and cooperation is important to give the ship good drive, and extra fun and challenging is the fact that we have everything from kids to seniors from around the world on board. This year we have crew from over 20 countries on four continents – Europe, Asia, South America and the United States. It’s pretty extraordinary.”
Jolie Brise (UK):
“After days of fantastic sailing, beautiful sunsets, amazing weather and multiple sightings of dolphins, sharks, flying fish and even whales, we are fast approaching the finish line off the coast of Lisbon. The last few days have been tense as we have been trading first and second place with Statsraad Lehmkuhl, so it’s all hands on deck as we enter the last crucial hours of the race.”
Statsraad Lehmkuhl (Norway):
“We passed the finishing line and are now anchored at the entrance to Lisbon harbour, where we will have a celebration barbeque and prepare the ship for our arrival in port. We hope and believe that we have taken the Class victory and possibly also the overall victory if the margins are on our side. We are, in any case, very satisfied with the enthusiasm and effort that everyone has shown throughout the nine days of racing in both fresh and absent wind conditions. Well done to all and a careful congratulation until the official results are announced.”