The Dutch naval sail training vessel Urania led The Tall Ships’ Races fleet out of Den Helder today in a beautiful parade of sail. The sun shone for most of the day and many of the vessels set some sail. As they passed the saluting vessel, De Ruyter, they paid their respects to the city by firing cannons, performing Mexican waves or cheering. On board De Ruyter were a number of dignitories including the Prins Maruits van Oranje-Nassau van Vollenhove, who said he thoroughly enjoyed watching the ships and was a huge supporter of all that Sail Training International stood for.

Watching the parade of sail from the shore were thousands of people who were treated to a great view as the ships passed fairly close as they sailed along the Den Helder roads. As the ships disappeared into the distance, they were joined by hundreds of spectator craft which followed along beside to cheer and wave.
Yesterday some 80,000 people were estimated to have visited the fleet in Den Helder with more expected to have watched the parade of sail today.

A number of the vessels had taken spectators on board for the parade and then returned them to Den Helder before disappearing into the sunset. Many of them will be joining up again for Sail Bremmerhaven on 27 August, and then afterwards a number will be in Falmouth for the start of the Funchal 500 Tall Ships Regatta which will see around 30 vessels race down to Ilhavo in Portugal and then on to Madeira in Funchal to celebrate the city’s 500th anniversary.

The race series has been a spectacular success with many young people having experienced their first time at sea with all the challenges that brings. The memories they take away with them will stay with them forever and it is hoped will shape their lives in a positive way and help stand them in good stead for the future. Many will be back again next year to renew friendships and to experience another adventure.
Final Results and Prize Lists

As The Tall Ships’ Races 2008 draws to a close, many of the captains and crews spent the day meeting up with friends for a final get together before they go their own way. One old tradition that has been going since 1994 is for the crew of Shabab Oman (Oman) to host a lunch for the crew of Jens Krogh (Denmark) who then invite the Omani crew back to their vessel for pancakes. This tradition has become a firm favourite with both crews and is the essence of the spirit of The Tall Ships’ Races.

Meanwhile, many of the crews were on the move, with new crews arriving to take the vessels on to the next point of call. Crews that are not changing were enjoying some sports events today, including dragon boat racing and beach volley ball.
Last night the crews got together for a final crew party which was followed by a grand firework display. On board a number of the ships meanwhile, private parties were being held which are an essential way for the ships to make money while in port.

Earlier today the captains assembled for a briefing about tomorrow’s undocking and parade of sail. The undocking will get under way fairly early in order to get all the vessels out onto the Den Helder Roads before the Parade of Sail which will start at 1500 hrs.

The Omani ship Shabab Oman won the prestigious Sail Training International Friendship Trophy today at the final prize giving for The Tall Ships’ Races. The Queen’s Commissioner, Harry Borghouds, together with Knut Western, the Chairman of The Tall Ships’ Races 2008, presented the awards. The prize-giving followed a typically noisy and colourful crew parade through the streets of Den Helder, the final port in this year’s race series. Following the presenting of all the trophies for the winners of the races and other awards, the announcement was made that Shabab Oman won the Friendship Trophy.

A huge cheer went up from all the crew members present showing that the win was a popular one with the fleet. The trophy epitomises the objective of the races and is awarded to the vessel which, in the opinion of the entire race fleet, has done the most to help further international understanding and friendship during the races. The Omanis are always popular competitiors in the races and are forever smiling and friendly.
Apart from the Friendship Trophy, a number of other prizes were awarded, these started with the winners of Race Two of The Tall Ships’ Races from Bergen to Den Helder. These are:

Class A on corrected time
1st Christian Radich (Norway)
2nd Sørlandet (Norway)
3rd Mir (Russia)

Class B on corrected time
1st Jolie Brise (UK)
2nd Moosk (UK)
3rd Morning Star of Revelation

Class C on corrected time
1st Akela (Russia)
2nd Black Diamond of Durham (UK)
3rd Gaudeamus (Poland)

Class D on corrected time
1st St Barbara V (UK)
2nd Rona II (UK)
3rd Thyra (Denmark)

The First vessel to cross the line (line honours)
Akela (Russia) with an elapsed time of 3 days, 23 hours 18 minutes and 24 seconds.

First vessel overall on corrected time:
Christian Radich (Norway) with a corrected time of 2 days, 16 hourrs, 56 minutes and 8 seconds.

The following special prizes for Race Two were donated by Sail Training International:

Youngest Captain: Magda Makowska of Gedania (Poland), aged 21 years, 6 months and 22 days.

Youngest Trainee: Moritz Henneka of Johann Smidt (Germany), aged 15 years and 11 days.

Vicki Scott Memorial Award presented to the captain of the ship with the greatest number of trainees on board: Clas Jagdum of Christian Radich who had 13 different nationalities on baord.

Honourable Company of Master Mariners, presented to a vessel who showed considerable seamanship in going to the assistance of Clyde Challenger in such a professional manner, awarded to Loyal (Norway)

Helmut Bastian bell, presented to the vessel with the highest percentage of young trainees: Zryw (Poland)

Crowther Memorial Shield, awarded Dr Simon Cunningham of Lord Nelson (UK), who assisted a crew member on Johann Smidt with a medical condition that resulted in an airlift to Newcastle Hospital.

Hans Reith Memorial Plate, presented to a vessel who underwent an act of extreme hardship, awarded to Clyde Challenger (UK)

Special prize for the vessel that travelled the furthest distance to take part in The Tall Ships’ Races: Cuauhtemoc (Mexico), who travelled 6,009 miles.

Sail Training International Communications prize, presented to the vessel which, in the opinion of the communications officers for Race Two had contributed most to the communications schedule, awarde to Lotos (Netherlands)

Cook Longest at Sea, presented to the cook who had to work for the longest time, awarded Clive Elsom of Stavros S Niarchos (UK)

The Torbay Cup, presented to a trainee for outstanding individual achievement and personal effort from Cuauhtemoc (Mexico), Arturo Morales Desachy who at just 21 went out of his way to assist other crew members, learnt other languages to help trainees from different vessels and even risked his own life to save a fellow crew member.

The Sail Training International Perpetual Trophies awarded for the Race series, were:

The Illingworth Trophy, awarded to the first vessel in Class D for the race series, Lietuva (Lithuania)

The Angela Cup, awarded to the first vessel in Class C for the race series, Black Diamond of Durham (UK)

The Florence Cup, awarded to the first vessel in Class B for the race series, Jolie Brise (UK)

The Cape Horn Trophy, awarded to the first vessel in Class A for the race series, Christian Radich (Norway)

The Antwerp Sponsors Trophy, awarded by the City, Port and Province of Antwerp to the organisation which significantly contributed to this year’s Tall Ships’ Races by arranging the cruise-in-company between Maløy and Bergen, awarded to the ports of Bergen and Maløy and presented to Charles Blalid and Helge Hjelle with special mention of Per Langhelle who was not present.

The final trophy awarded was the Friendship Trophy, after which the entire crew from Shabab Oman went up onto the stage and started to party straight away. For them this was better than winning an Olympic medal!

Race Two Final Results (pdf)

His Highness Prins Maurits of Oranje-Nassau van Vollenhoven together with the Princess Marilene of Oranje-Nassau brought some glamour to The Tall Ships’ Races in Den Helder yesterday when they attended both the Opening Ceremony and the Captains’ Dinner.

Photo: L to r: Mayor Hulman of Den Helder with His Highness Prins Maurits of Oranje-Nassau.

The Opening Ceremony drew a large crowd in front of the stage where the Prince and Princess joined Mayor Hulman of Den Helder and other local dignitories to watch a singer and orchestra. Mayor Hulman then welcomed the Captains and their ships to Den Helder and thanked them for bringing their vessels to the port for the biggest event that the city has ever seen.

Knut Western, the Chairman of The Tall Ships’ Races 2008, said that while the Olympics may be going on in Beijing, the young trainees that had just finished the race had been, “no less Olympic in their eagerness to win and with no less Olympic spiit.”

The Prince and Princess then led the Captains the short distance to the Captains’ Dinner. Patrice L’Hour, Captain of Etoile, the French Navy vessel, thanked the city of Den Helder on behalf of the captains, with a charming speech that made everyone laugh, including the royal guests of honour.

Entertainment during the dinner was provided by a talented violinist from the Royal Marine Band, a Royal Marine drum group and a French band of drumming Troubadors who danced around the diners before escorting them outside into the crowd. Once outside the Troubadors were lifted into the air on an unusual spider-like contraption, spotlit as they drummed in the sky and joined by a trapeze artist.

Today will see the crews parade through the streets in their traditional parade before the final prize giving. It is hoped the rain will stop falling long enough for them to fully enjoy the focus of the city’s attention.

Between 50-70,000 people are estimated to have visited the fleet yesterday with these numbers rising day by day to a peak on Saturday for the Parade of Sail. All the vessels are now in port.

The majority of the 65 vessels that will be in Den Helder for the final four days of The Tall Ships’ Races have now arrived. Still to arrive are Jolie Brise (UK) which is due in today at 1800 hrs local time, Picton Castle (Cook Isles), due today at 1700 hrs local, Sørlandet (Norway) due this evening at 2000 hrs, Kapitan Glowacki (Poland) and Johann Smidt (Germany) due tomorrow morning and John Laing (UK), which is currently in Calvyn and has not yet advised their eta in Den Helder.

All day the vessels have been arriving and berthing in the various parts of the port. The Class C and D vessels are predominently in the Natte Dok, the Class B vessels and a number of the smaller Class A vessels are berthed along the Koopvaardersbinnenhaven, a canal that runs along the edge of the port, with the larger Class A vessels berthed in the Het Nieuwe Diep, or main naval marina.
Tonight at 1745 hrs a welcome reception will be held at the Naval Academy at which all the Captains will be presented to the event’s patron, His Highness Prins Maurits of Oranje-Nassau van Vollenhoven and Princess Marilene of Oranje-Nassau. Immediately after the reception, the opening ceremony will take place, followed by the Captains Dinner which is being held at the Kathedraal, Willemsoord.

The experience of sailing on a Tall Ship has so inspired four youngsters from Bermuda that all of them would love to repeat the experience. Not only would they like to sail again on a Tall Ship but they’ve set their sights on taking part in the Tall Ships Atlantic Challenge next year and crossing the Atlantic to sail into Bermuda.

“It would be so cool to sail into Bermuda on a Tall Ship and have all our families watching us,” said William Halliday, 17, one of four youngsters who sailed on Christian Radich from Bergen to Den Helder. William went on to say that he now had renewed respect for his ancestors who had no choice but to travel by ship to reach the new world and settle in Bermuda. “It puts it all into a new light and makes you realise what the great explorers had to ensure,” he said.
Photo: L to r: Catharine Hay, Sarah Smith, Christine Jack and William Halliday.

Catharine Hay, 25, said she had watched friends take part in the previous Atlantic race in 2000 and was disappointed that she couldn’t also sail. When the chance came up this year to take part in The Tall Ships’ Races she said she jumped at the chance. “I saw something on facebook first of all and immediately wanted to know more,” said Catherine who had absolutely no experience of sailing at all before boarding the ship. “It was amazing to have such an international experience and to work in a team with people from other countries,” Catherine said, “sometimes we had to get up just after we’d gone to bed so we could help tack. It was exhausing at times!”

Christine Jack, 17, had heard about Christian Radich from a friend’s sister so when she saw an advert in the paper she was quick to apply. “We had to write a letter about why we wanted to take part and then were chosen from all the applicants, which was very exciting,” said Christine. “I got a bit seasick at the beginning but everyone was so kind and helpful and it disappeared after a day or two!”

Sarah Smith, 19, is the only one of the four that had ever sailed on a Tall Ship before having spent a term on Class Afloat, the Canadian School ship. “It was very different on board Christian Radich,” said Sarah, “so it didn’t really help me but I have fallen in love with setting sails and grab any opportunity to do more of it!”

All of them said it only took a few days before they were getting the hang of the sails and the ropes and even managed to learn a bit of Norwegian. They all commented on the wonderful spirit that was on board, which they admit may have been helped by winning the race!

Their enthusiasm for sailing on a Tall Ship is so strong that any ships looking for crew to take part in the Tall Ships Atlantic Challenge should get in touch with them quickly!

The fleet of The Tall Ships’ Races started to arrive in Den Helder today with Cuauhtemoc (Mexico) and the provisional winner,Christian Radich (Norway), among the first. A number of the smaller Class C and D vessels also arrived into the small basin in front of the Naval Academy, including many of the provisional winners of their classes, which finished the race a few days ago.

Lord Nelson (UK), one of the vessels still out at sea, has taken over from the communications vessel and is recording the positions of the rest of the fleet as they make their way to Den Helder.
All the vessels are expected to be in Den Helder by midday tomorrow, 20 August, for the start of the final four days of festivities. The final prize giving will take place on Thursday 21 August when the Sail Training International Friendship Trophy will be awarded as well as a number of other trophies.

Four young people from Cape Town, South Africa, have just enjoyed an experience they say they will never forget. Valentino Scholtz, 17, Sakhekile Qoyi, 18, Shafeeqah Salie, 25 and Claire Bouah, 25, all earned the chance to sail on Christian Radich thanks to the South African Sail-Training for Life-Skills Development Association (SASLA). SASLA promotes and assists the provision of opportunities for training under sail to youth and adults to foster the development of sustainable life skills, constructive citizenship and the art of seamanship.

The four joined the ship in Bergen knowing nothing about tall ships and only a little about sailing dinghies. They all expressed the experience as having been ‘amazing’ and said, without hesitation, that they would love to do it again as it had taught them so much about themselves and other cultures. “It also made us realise how proud we are of our own country, which was something I hadn’t expected,” said Shafeeqah.

Photo: L to R: Valentino Schholtz, Shafeeqah Salie, Sakhekile Qoyi and Claire Bouah.

Sakhekile, who had wanted to take part in Team SA’s participation in The Tall Ships’ Races last year but had been unable to obtain a visa in time, said the experience had presented him with many challenges which had made him think. “It is only when you are encountering challenges that you find ways to tackle them and that means you become more open minded. It was very interesting to realise how much more you can achieve,” said Sakhekile.

Shafeeqah said she loved the great spirit that was on board. “It was a bit like being part of the United Nations as we had so many nationalities on board. We teased each other about their accents, words they used, languages and habits, but we were all a team,” she said. “It was so nice to be part of something bigger and is much better than taking a holiday lying on a beach or something. It was great to see a different reality, to see how different life could be and how South Africa could become. It has given us all a new perspective on life and also an appreciation of our own country.” Shafeeqah has always been active and particularly keen on challenging herself but in the past this has been largely limited to mountaineering. “This has opened up something more for me and I really enjoyed the experience.”

Valentino earned himself the nickname of ‘mast-monkey’ as he spent so much time climbing to the top of the mast. “I loved it when it was rough and the mast swayed from side to side, the view from up there was amazing!” Valentino, who also applied to take part last year and was delighted to be in the first team this year, wants to work in tourism and feels the experience will be invaluable to him.

All of them agreed that having the chance to exchange ideas with Europeans of their own age was invaluable. “The most interesting thing that I discovered was that actually we have more in common with Europeans than I thought,” said Shafeeqah. “We could exchange ideas and through that we realised there are a lot of misconceptions about South Africa that we could alter.”

Claire Bouah currently works as a debt collector and found the experience of sailing on Christian Radich has really opened her eyes to the world. “I feel more comfortable on this ship than I do in an office back home and the experience has made me realise that I would like to explore the possibility of making a career out of sailing,” said Claire. “I’ve no idea how I could go about doing that, but a huge door has opened in front of me and I’m really excited about it. ” Claire, who also speaks German said that she is proud of being able to cross borders and break barriers. “We were already winners before we boarded the ship!”

The four say they will be sad to leave Christian Radich and hope to come back and repeat the experience one day. They also hope that one day South Africa will have a Tall Ship of their own. “We have all visited the Tall Ships that have visited Cape Town and been in awe of them, so to have this experience to sail on board was a dream come true,” said Sakhekile, who clearly spoke for them all. They leave for South Africa on Saturday but their memories will be with them for a lot longer and no doubt their story will inspire more to follow in their footsteps.

Christian Radich is the provisional winner of the race overall on corrected time.
Provisional Results

A unique blend of Dutch maritime history and offshore cruising

For those who seek to combine sailing with maritime history, Den Helder offers the perfect blend. A major port town of 60,000 inhabitants, just 80 km north of Amsterdam, Den Helder is the Netherlands’ no. 1 seaport for offshore yachting. But take a step back in time, and Den Helder offers you breathtaking maritime monuments and naval fortifications, dating back to Napoleonic times and even the Republic’s Golden Age.

Den Helder is the homeport of the Royal Netherlands Navy, has major fishing and offshore industries and offers no less than six marinas.

During The Tall Ships’ Races 2008, more than 90 vessels of the STI fleet will find a vintage berth in and around Oude Rijkswerf Willemsoord, once the ancient Napoleonic dockyard of the Royal Netherlands Navy, now fully restored as a nautical theme park. Offering museums, dry-docks, cinemas, restaurants and a marina in a beautifully restored historical setting, Willemsoord is a maritime monument of truly European stature.

Den Helder is a port well-known to many Tall Ships and other sailing vessels that took part in our 1993 and 1997 Sail events. Captains and crews may well remember the quality of our liaison service, our technical facilities and the extensive programmes for trainees, crews and officers.

From Wednesday August 20 till August 23 the regional television company “Radio & Television North-Holland” will broadcast journals every day at 20.25 hours, but via our website you can also see everything: www.rtvnh.nl

The race time limit was reached today at 1200 hrs GMT for Class A, 1230 hrs for Class B, 1245 hrs for Class C and 1300 hrs for Class D, which means all vessels are deemed to have finished regardless of whether they have crossed the finish line or not.

Final results will not be confirmed until all the vessels have arrived in Den Helder and handed in their race declaration forms, but the provisional results show that Christian Radich (Norway) is the winner overall on corrected time, with Jolie Brise (UK) in second place and Sørlandet (Norway) in third.
In the Classes on corrected time, behind Christian Radich and Sørlandet in Class A is Mir (Russia). In Class B, Jolie Brise (UK) is the winner with Moosk (UK) in second place and Morning Star of Revelation (UK) in third. Akela (Russia) is the provisional winner of Class C, with Black Diamond of Durham (UK) in second place and Gaudeamus (Poland) in third. St Barbara V (UK) is in first place in Class D, with Rona II (UK) in second and Thyra (Denmark) in third.

The full list of provisional results can be seen in the Results

All the vessels are now making their way to Den Helder for the final four days of festivities which start on Wednesday 20 August. A number have already arrived in the port where they have been warmly welcomed.