Past Tall Ships’ Races

Admin | Maritime Articles | February 11, 2008

Races and Festivals for sail training Tall Ships really began in the mid 1950s. The idea of an international race for sail training Tall Ships, manned by crews drawn from cadets and seamen under training, and to mark what was expected to be the end of the age of sail, was first discussed informally in 1953. The ‘Sail Training International Race Committee’ was established and plans were made for a race between Torbay in the UK and Lisbon in Portugal in July 1956.

But instead of marking the end of the age of sail, this first Tall Ships Race heralded the dawn of a new age for sailing ships and sail training.

Over the decades since, many new sail training Tall Ships have been built, big and small, and many older ships have been converted to sail training. The fleet that participates in The Tall Ships’ Races in Europe has grown from just 20 in 1956 to sometimes well over 100 today.

The European races gave rise to two important developments: First, the creation of national sail training organisations around the world (for a list of these, click here…), and second, the development of many other races, events and festivals for sail training Tall Ships.

Two races for sail training Tall Ships around the north Atlantic have been staged, in 1992 and 2000, with another now scheduled for 2009. The American Sail Training Association hold an annual series of Tall Ships Challenge events that today attracts a fleet of some 10-15 vessels. (For more on the ASTA Tall Ships Challenge, click here…) In 1997 a Tall Ships race was organised in the waters around Japan, and in 2002 one was held in waters around Korea. Special races have also been organised specifically for the smaller vessels, such as the Small Ships Races organised by the UK’s Association of Sea Training Organisations (for more on this click here) and the annual Nordic Sail involving Norway, Sweden and Denmark.

The growth of races for sail training Tall Ships also heralded the growth of maritime festivals, some including sail training Tall Ships, others specifically for them. In recent years the schedule of these events has become crowded, so in 2004 Sail Training International established its Endorsed Events programme to help coordinate dates and provide a mechanism for mutual support and promotion. (For more detail on Endorsed Events, click here). This programme began in Europe but will soon be extended to other regions of the world.

The first Tall Ships Race in 1956 was established by an organisation called the Sail Training International Race Committee. This became a permanent body, changing over the years through other incarnations as the UK Sail Training Association, the International Sail Training Association and finally back to its roots as a new charity in 2003, Sail Training International.

For more on the first race of 1956 click here…

Previous Ports and Dates
Race Entries for past 20 years
2003 Race Results
2003 Race Prizes
2004 Race Results
2004 Race Prizes
2005 Race Results
2005 Race Prizes
2006 Race Results
2006 Race Prizes
2007 Mediterreanean Race Results
2007 Mediterranean Race Prizes
2007 Baltic Race Results
2007 Baltic Race Prizes