Information Bulletin
21 August 2006
Tall Ships' Races 2006 come to an end
The 50th Anniversary Tall Ships’ Races ends today in Antwerp, with the forty seven participating vessels leaving the port in the final Parade of Sail at 12 noon tomorrow (Tuesday). Two Shetlanders, George Thomason from Yell and Duncan Anderson from Walls, will return home on Wednesday following their two week spell as sail trainees aboard the Russian Naval Tall Ship Mir.
The final leg of the Races saw all the vessels taking part, including different four classes of Tall Ships, leave the northern Spanish port of La Coruña for Antwerp on Thursday 10th August. The Mir made excellent time across the Bay of Biscay and was the first of the largest Class ‘A’ Tall Ships to cross the finish line, in eighth place overall. All the crews have spent the last two days ashore enjoying events hosted by the Race Organisers, Sail Training International; and the people of Antwerp.
In total, seven young adults from Shetland between the ages of 18 and 24 have taken part in this summer’s 50th Anniversary Tall Ships Races, all spending time as sail trainees aboard Class ‘A’ Tall Ships. Ian Bray and Robert Wishart, were aboard the Dutch registered 44 metre Europa sailing from St. Malo to Lisbon, via Torbay; and Sanna Aitken, Rosalind Nicol and Jon Dowson were crew members aboard the 62 metre Norwegian Christian Radich sailing from Lisbon to La Coruña, via Cadiz.
Their participation in this year’s Races has been jointly sponsored by Shetland Islands Council and Lerwick Port Authority with the support of The Swan Trust.
Robert Wishart, who has spent many years sailing dinghies in Shetland, commented on his time aboard the Europa “It was an unforgettable experience to be at the helm of a Tall Ship under full sail."
ENDS
Notes for Editors:
Full details of the 50th Anniversary Tall Ships’ Races, including vessels, results and copyright free images are available from Sail Training International at:
www.sailtraininginternational.org