Isle of Wight teenager to take to the high seas
Avanzini · Leave a CommentFiled under: Places, Tall Ships Atlantic Challenge 2009
Press Release
9 February 2009
An Isle of Wight teenager is preparing to cross the Atlantic on a 20.6m ketch, as part of the Tall Ships Atlantic Challenge this summer. Imelda McGrath, 18 and currently at Carisbrooke High School, will be going to Tenerife in May to join the vessel Rona II to sail some 2,600 nautical miles west across the Atlantic to Bermuda.
“Living on the Isle of Wight I have learned to love the sea,” says Imelda. “I’ve tried out loads of different water sports from aqua skipping to surfing but have always wanted to improve my sailing. After a recommendation from a friend I decided to do a sail training voyage with the Rona Sailing Project and through that I won an Amory award which qualified me to attend a selection weekend for the Tall Ships Atlantic Challenge.”
Imelda will be joining 17 other young women under 25 on the race across the Atlantic, together with five crew members. An all-boy Atlantic crossing will take place when Rona II does the return race from Halifax to Belfast in August. “All the trainee crews will need to work hard to get the best out of Rona II, with four hour watches day and night for the entire four week race,” says skipper Chris Wolley, for whom this Atlantic crossing will also be a first. “It will be hard work for everyone but we are also sure it will be great fun and something that all the young men and women will remember for the rest of their lives.”
The cost of taking part in the event is £1400 but all the trainees selected have been asked to fundraise half that amount through a series of activities. So far they have taken part in a London-Brighton bike ride, organised a concert and undertook a 24 hour rowing marathon at Tesco in Southampton. Before Easter they will be doing a round the Isle of Wight bike ride and then over the Easter weekend they will be sailing around the island.
Imelda has to delay taking her final A2 exams until January 2010 because she will miss them over the summer. “But I wasn’t about to give up a once in a lifetime opportunity to take part in the Tall Ships Atlantic Challenge because of exams,” commented Imelda, who has been awarded a RAF sixth form scholarship and hopes to pursue a career as an Engineer Officer in the RAF after studying aeronautical engineering at university.
“I’m really looking forward to doing some proper sailing, it’s hard to imagine how awesome it will be to race with a full spinnaker across the Atlantic,” says Imelda. “I know I’ll be very homesick being away from everyone for such a long time but then again I’m already looking forward to ringing home when I arrive in Bermuda. I guess after five week of being together with other girls on Rona II we will become very close, so I expect it will be strange not to have them around every second of the day when I get home!”
The Tall Ships Atlantic Challenge will involve some 50 Tall Ships racing across the Atlantic, including the second largest Tall Ship in the world, Kruzenshtern. The Russian ship is 114.5m long and takes 257 crew members, making her an awesome sight. The competition for the race will be strong, with all the ships vying to be first across the finish line.
“This kind of challenge may not be for everyone but I’m definitely going to be giving my all to try and win. That’s a very important part of the trip for me,” says Imelda. “I will push myself as hard as I can over the course of the race, otherwise there’s no point in taking part. It’s a race after all, not a holiday and I want to win.”
More information on the race and the vessels taking part can be found on www.tallshipsraces.org.
Ends
The Tall Ships Atlantic Challenge is open to anyone from 15 years of age upwards regardless of sailing experience. Trainees can take part in any part of the race and berths are still available on a number of the vessels.
For further information contact Corinne Hitching, Media Manager for Sail Training International.
Tel: 077641 83866
email: Corinne.hitching@sailtraininginternational.org
Popularity: 48% [?]
| 3.0 (1 person) |
Press Invitation to the Tall Ships Races Måløy the 1-4th of August 2008
We would like to invite you to The Tall Ships Races in Måløy.
The 1-4th of August it is set for the largest event in Måløy’s history.
Over a hundred sailingships will be decorating the harbour in the smallest town that has ever been selected as hostport for the TSR.
During your stay it will be a very entertaining and cultural program.
We believe that we may offer you as a Journalist and/or Photographer many exciting and profitable experiences.
Måløy, which is situated in the Municipality of Vågsøy, in the County of Sogn and Fjordane, is a lively maritime town with fantastic and manifoldly nature.
This nature has given Måløy a perfect emplacement.
It is a great starting point for sportsfishing, diving, birdwatching and hiking.
You may also experience the known places of Maritime Culture in Vågsøy; such as the dignified lighthouses, the tradingplace Vågsberget, Seahouses in Torskangerpollen, and the barrel factory among others.
We wish that you as our guest should get the most out of the days that you wish to stay in Måløy and we are happy to present to you our press centre with all facilities, strategically placed in the centre of Måløy.
Regarding overnight stay we may offer you among others; sea houses, hotel ships, hotels and camping cabins.
There are few places where the landscape is more diversified and where the adventures
are as manifoldly as here in Nordfjord. We may offer you fantastic adventures such as hiking on glaciers, summer skiing or white beaches and surfing. If you would like to experience any of these attractions we recommend you to do that in connection to The Tall Ships’ Races.
We may assist you with information about guides and tour operators.
About The Tall Ships’ Races 2008
In 2008 the following cities are elected as mainports for The Tall Ships Races:
Liverpool, Måløy, Bergen, Den Helder.
The sailing will start in Liverpool with the first sailing competition north of Shetland, over the North Sea and in to Måløy. Here the boats will be staying for 4 days, some of the faster ships will probably arrive some days earlier. From Måløy the fleet will continue on a “Cruise in Company” – which is a cordial sailing where the ships sail together and choose the ports they would like to visit along the way. On the distance Måløy – Bergen the ships can experience the fantastic Norwegians fjords, which are on the list of UNESCO’s World Cultural Heritage.
The Tall Ships’ Races are an annual international regatta that normally goes between four host ports. The event has been held in Europe since 1956. Around 70-100 ships take part, with the participants coming from many different countries and continents
The event is organised by Sail Training International (STI), which is a charitable organisation. It aims to teach young people from different cultures, religions and social backgrounds how to sail, in order to foster cultural exchange and friendship. The young people have to learn to cooperate under basic and strenuous conditions, whilst extending their personal horizons.
Each year there are two competitive races and one Cruise-in-Company, which involves the ships sailing together and visiting ports along the way. In 2008 the Cruise-in-Company will go between Bergen and Måløy, whilst the races will take place on the stretches Liverpool-Måløy and Bergen-Den Helder.
During the races the young people get a taste of what it is like to sail in an international environment of likeminded people, whilst also having to overcome the physical and psychological challenges posed by the sea.
The Tall Ships’ Races are much more than a regatta where the aim is to cross the finish line first. Teamwork, friendship and understanding are equally important, and these qualities are also rewarded. For example, there is an: “International friendship and understanding prize”.
The host ports are responsible for looking after the crews while the ships are docked, and for putting on an exciting programme of activities and entertainment for all of the participants and spectators.
This is the provisional programme for the days that the Tall Ships’ Races 2008 will visit Måløy. FRIDAY 1 AUGUST
- Parade for the final boats to arrive
- Ships and crews welcomed
- Opening parade
- Opening ceremony
- Street party in Måløy
- Cultural events
- Activities for spectators in the harbour area
- Ship party
- Marquees
- Crew activities
- Crew parade (17:00-18:00)
- Prize giving ceremony (18:00-19:00)
- Crew party (20:00-24:00)
SATURDAY 2 AUGUST
- Street party in Måløy
- Cultural events
- Activities for spectators in the harbour area
- Ship party
- Marquees
- Crew activities
- Captains’ Dinner
SUNDAY 3 AUGUST
- Street party in Måløy
- Cultural events
- Activities for spectators in the harbour area
- Ship party
- Marquees
- Crew activities
- Captains’ Briefing (11:00)
- Officers’ Party
- Closing ceremony
MONDAY 4 AUGUST
- Street party in Måløy
- Cultural events
- Activities for spectators in the harbour area
- Undocking / preparations for departure (11:00-13:00)
- Parade of Sail
- Farewell (Måløy/ both sides of Ulvesundet)
You may become accredited for the event in Måløy by logging on to our websites: http://www.tallshipsraces.no , under “Press”.
With Kind Regards
The media committee in The Tall Ships’ Races Måløy 2008
Popularity: 20% [?]
Cadiz; The three thousand year old city
Cádiz, the oldest existing city in western Europe, is home to many beautiful and historic monuments and attractions. Its peculiar location at the end of a narrow peninsula lends added charm to this ancient city.
Cadiz is located on a narrow peninsula streching out into a bay and it’s almost entirely surrounded by water. The Phoenicians founded it in 1104 BC as a trading post with Tartessos, under the name of Gadir. Around 500 BCE, the city was controlled by the Carthaginians, until the city fell to Roman forces under Scipio Africanus in 206 BC. The city was renamed Gades and flourished as a Roman naval base.
The 5th century overthrow of Roman power in Spain by the Visigoths saw the destruction of the original city, of which there remain few remnants today. Betweeen 711 and 1262 it was ruled by the Moors, the city was called Qādis from which the modern Spanish name, Cádiz, was derived.
Iin the early 16th century the city experienced a renaissance attaining great splendour as a launching point for the journey to the newly discovered lands of America. Christopher Columbus sailed from Cádiz on his second and fourth voyages. The city later became the home port of the Spanish treasure fleet and as a result of this, a major target of Spain’s enemies. A raid by Sir Francis Drake, was repulsed outside the city in April 1587.
In the 18th century, the sand bars of the river Guadalquivir forced the Spanish government to transfer the port monopolizing trade with Spanish America from upriver Seville to Cádiz on the Atlantic coast. During this time, the city experienced a golden age during which three-quarters of all Spanish trade was with the Americas. It became one of Spain’s greatest and most cosmopolitan cities and home to trading communities from many countries, among whom the richest was the Irish community. Many of today’s historic buildings in the Old City date from this era.
During Napoleon’s conquest of Europe, Cádiz was one of the few cities in Spain that was able to resist the French invasion.
Cádiz was also the seat of the liberal Cortes (parliament) that fought against Joseph Napoleon Bonaparte in the Peninsular War and where the Spanish Constitution of 1812 was proclaimed. The citizens again revolted in 1820 to secure a renewal of this constitution; the revolution spread across Spain, leading to the imprisonment of King Ferdinand VII in the city of Cádiz.
Some of the city’s 18th century walls still stand, such as the Landward Gate (Puerta Tierra). The old, central quarter (casco antiguo) of Cadiz is famous for its picturesque charm, and many of the buildings reflect the city’s overseas links. In recent years, the city has undergone much reconstruction. Many monuments, cathedrals, and landmarks have been cleaned and restored, adding to the considerable charm of this ancient city.
Popularity: 15% [?]
