The Sail Training International annual conference will be held outside Europe this year for the first time ever. It will take place in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, 14-15 November, and be organised jointly with the American Sail Training Association (ASTA – one of the founder member national sail training organisations of Sail Training International).

“This development recognises Sail Training International’s growing engagement outside its historical European base and it will provide us with an excellent opportunity to gather more sail trainers from North America than would normally attend in Europe”, says Nigel Rowe, President of the organisation. “Halifax will also be a Sail Training International host port for the Tall Ships Atlantic Challenge 2009.”

The theme for the Sail Training Programme content will be ‘Best Practices – why we do it and how we do it’. This will include workshops on subjects such as media relations, medicine at sea, youth work, State funding, and navigating the regulatory seas. The theme for the Host Port Programme content will be ‘Working together – measuring and maximising the benefits of partnering with the sail training industry’. This will include workshops on subjects such as recruiting trainees, media case studies, corporate hospitality and economic impact studies.

The conference will be preceded by a ‘Port to Port Day’ on Thursday 13 November, which will provide opportunities for host port delegates to network with other ports and representatives of the port business community in Halifax.

Special discounted room rates have been negotiated with the Marriott Halifax Harbourfront Hotel and fees have been set to encourage sail training operators to attend this important conference. A limited number of bursaries will also be available to assist sail trainers with travel costs.

Full details of the conference, with booking form and details of bursaries will be available on the Sail Training International website from the end of May, www.sailtraininginternational.org. Delegates from North America must register via the ASTA website, also available from the end of May, www.sailtraining.org.

For further details please contact Corinne Hitching, Media & Publications Manager, Sail Training International, tel: +44 23 9258 6367, email: corinne.hitching@sailtraininginternational.org

The ports of Falmouth in the UK and Funchal in Portugal have now reached their maximum capacity for the large Class A ships for this year’s Funchal 500 Tall Ships Regatta. Smaller vessels are still able to enter but these two ports are unable to berth any more Class A ships.

Falmouth now has ten Class A ships registered to take part in the first race to Ilhavo in Portugal, together with another nine vessels of the smaller classes. The second race, which ends in Funchal, has 11 Class A vessels registered with seven smaller vessels also taking part.

“It is very exciting that we have so many Class A vessels taking part in this event,” said Peter Newell, Race Director. “The fact that the square rigged ships greatly outnumber the smaller craft is a sure sign that the vessels love to take part in these events and that provides a wonderful opportunity for many people to take part in the Regatta.”

Sail Training International, the organisers of the event, always knew there would be a limit to the number of Class A ships these ports could handle due to berthing restrictions, but did not think they would reach the limit so early. The Class A ships taking part include two of the biggest in the world, Mir and Sedov from Russia as well as Cuahtemoc from Mexico, Shabab Oman from Oman and Capitan Miranda from Uruguay which will make for a colourful and multi-cultural event. The latest Class A ship to join is Pelican from the UK, racing with us for the first time this year.

“This is a wonderful problem to have,” said Francisco Faria Paulino, project manager of the event in Funchal. “The fact that we have some of the biggest ships in the world taking part means we will have a spectacular event to celebrate the 500th anniversary of Funchal and so we are very pleased. The ships and their crews will be given a very warm welcome in Funchal!”

The Funchal 500 Tall Ships Regatta starts in Falmouth from 10-13 September where the first race will commence. The fleet will race down to Ilhavo in Portugal where they will enjoy four days of festivities, 20-23 September, before racing to Funchal where the fleet will form a centrepiece of the city’s 500th anniversary and Maritime Festival for four days, 2-5 October.

Anyone interested in taking part in the event should visit the event website, www.tallshipsraces.com/funchal500 for contact details of the ports and ships.