Tall Ships' Races

The Tall Ships 'Races - mostly in English officially the Tall Ships ' Races, German as " ( The ) tall ships race "; 1973 to 2003 Cutty Sark Tall Ships ' Races - are a first time in 1956 discharged long-distance race of tall ships and other sailing vessels with crews largely young (16 to 25 years). In the race on the one hand is the sailing race on time in the foreground, on the other hand also the goal of international understanding and exchange between young people and the promotion of " Sail Training " ( sail training to the goal of personal - physical and psychological - development and character education).

The regatta consists of two separate stages ( races, " race " ) over several hundred miles, where the participants can also take part in only one of the stages; they can be considered for the overall win over both stages but then of course not. Between the two stages takes a cruise in company: instead (such as " Travel in the Community"), in which the participating ships sail out of harbor rating to start the next race stage and can sail with the crews of foreign ships ( crew change); by the crew members, other ships and crews get to know, so also is the mutual encounter be encouraged.

The regatta is held annually on alternate routes to European waters with about 40 to 90 ( rarely to 120 ) vessels per stage. From 2003 to 2009 the Belgian city of Antwerp was a sponsor of the race, for the years 2010 to 2013, took over the Polish city of Szczecin.

In the participating ports the regatta including ship visits and social program has traditionally been a crowd puller. In recent years, every year hundreds of thousands flocked to the Tall Ships ' Races. 2006 came alone to Antwerp - although the port of destination of the race for the 50th anniversary, but only one of participating in that year six ports - 750,000 visitors.

The name of the regatta

The English name "Tall Ships' Races " can be roughly translated as " tall ships race ." Similar to the German word " tall ship " means " tall ship " (literally: high / large ship; Germanized " tallship " ) any particular type of sailing ships (eg Bark or full board), but generally refers to larger sailing ships in the traditional manner. The meaning of the term was coined by the Tall Ships ' Races with. The well-known large vessels of the regatta participants will then be now regarded as typical " Tallships ".

1973-2003 were Berry Brothers & Rudd, who market the Cutty Sark Scotch Whisky, sponsors of the regatta, which was called the Cutty Sark Tall Ships ' Races in that time. The whiskey in turn was named after the ship lying in London Cutty Sark, whose name from the dialect of the Scottish Lowlands - also called Lallans - comes and " short (sub - ) Shirt" means. After the sponsors withdrew in 2003, the regatta is wearing her original name.

Participants: The ships

The term "Tall Ships" is interpreted very generously by the organizers: On the Tall Ships ' Races vessels from 30 feet allowed ( 9.14 meters ) Length participate waterline.

The field is now divided into four size classes: In class A, the largest participating ships sail, namely vessels with a length of about 150 feet (45.72 meters); This information can include, for example, the Mir, the Christian Radich or the Gorch Fock. Class B includes the smaller traditional sailing vessels, ie vessels in the size of, for example, the Johann Smidt, or Astrid. The modern vessels less than 100 feet ( 30.48 meters ), ie mainly the yachts, sailing in classes C and D: In Class C the smaller ships take part, without the spinnaker ( often a colorful sail for light wind, which increases the speed drive ). The smaller boats with spinnaker start in Class D.

Per stage usually about 40 to 90 boats taking part. The smallest with ten ships of participants in recent years sailed in 2005 on a special stage ( in addition to the usual two stages) of Torbay to Santander (Spain). The largest field in recent years was in 1993 on the road: 122 ships sailed from Newcastle upon Tyne / Gateshead (Great Britain ) to Bergen (Norway).

Participants: The crews

Participation condition is that half of the crew 16 to 25 years old. The age of the rest of the crew is not subject to rules, so often experienced, considerably older participants are used as permanent crew of the tall ships. This are just on larger vessels for the other sailors previous sailing knowledge often not a prerequisite for participation in the regatta. For example, offer several German clubs rides to where the sailors first one or more days can be introduced into the sailing maneuvers before the race start, and then - under expert guidance - into its own with the regatta (eg Clipper DJS and life learning on sailing ships eV).

Ever since the inaugural tournament is an object of the regatta understanding and exchanges between young people, especially young people in the sail training on traditional vessels. Because even today, much of the tall ship is used as training ships or to sail training by clubs to take part in the regatta has always been a lot of sail training ships - including warships and merchant ships of different navies - in part.

Prices of the regatta

Prizes will be awarded at the Tall Ships ' Races, among others, for the speed of the sailing ships. Winners are determined per race stage and the overall winner of both stages and per size class and overall winner of all participants. Based on its design ( hull, rigging ) gets any vessel assigned to a Yardstick value that takes into account the velocity potential of the ship: - Bearing in mind that the ships still strong within the size classes, the Tall Ships ' Races will be conducted as a " measurement formula Regatta ". With this value, the sailing time actually required for the regatta course is corrected, and the results of the ships with these calculated times then determined. Therefore, the first ship in the target is often not the winner, since a slower ship may have provided better performance on corrected time (see regatta sailing). For example, in 1956, in the first edition of the Tall Ships ' Races, the Argentine yacht Juana Although the first ship in the target, but the victory went to the British Moyana before the Norwegian full rigged ship Christian Radich.

1973 led the Berry Brothers & Rudd sponsor next to the renaming of the regatta in Cutty Sark Tall Ships ' Race is also a new price: the Cutty Sark Trophy. The two-masted schooner spirit of the youth Kutter plant Bremen eV won the only German boat in 1997, the Trophy. Since the withdrawal of the sponsor in 2003, the prize is awarded under the name of Sail Training International Friendship Trophy ( for a special price short Friendship Trophy, engl. ). The coveted award goes to the team that - according to a poll of the captains of all participating ships - during the regatta has contributed the most to international understanding and friendship. 2003 and 2004 won the crew of the Mir Friendship Trophy, in 2005 the prize went to the crew of the Shabab Oman from Oman, 2006 to the Spanish Juan de Langara and 2007 to the British Lord Nelson.

Also described are various other prizes, only once, awarded for the part. So a special price for those ships was announced during the anniversary year 2006, which had been riding already in 1956 on the Regatta (fastest veteran was the French yacht Sereine ). For other special awards include a prize for the youngest crew or a price for the cook of the slowest ship - because it was the longest time at sea, " the most important man on board " is awarded that he had to do most of the work.

History of the Regatta

In 1953 the retired London lawyer Bernard Morgan to commit to organizing an international regatta for the last time existing tall ship. He was especially win the British Admiral Louis Mountbatten for his idea, and to carry out the regatta the Sail Training International Race Committee ( STIRC ) was established, which spawned the British Sail Training Association (STA ) ( forerunner of all the other Sail Training Association ).

1956, organized by the STA race from Torbay ( UK ) held in Lisbon (Portugal). Ships from nine European countries and Argentina were ( above and below 100 tons ) in two size classes against each other. Winner of the race was off the Norwegian Christian Radich the British ship Moyana that sank but on the way back from the race, on the way to Southampton, in a storm; All 23 crew members and the winner of the regatta price could be saved.

The regatta was planned as a one-off event, as a farewell to the era of tall ships and a way for the last cadets to sailing ships to come into contact. But the race unexpectedly led to great public interest, especially in the countries of the participating vessels, and the media invented the name Tall Ships ' Races. Given the broad echoes to the first race the organizers decided to organize a new edition in 1958 and from then on a biennial regatta.

It was (, subdivision Races dt " races " ) organized under the presidency of the Duke of Edinburgh for many years by the Sail Training Association. Later, the International Sail Training Association developed from it (ISTA ), and finally in 2003 the organization Sail Training International was formed, which has since hosted the Tall Ships ' Races.

The regatta itself continued to develop over the years: 1964 Size classes were introduced for the first time and separated the larger Swift ( Class A) of the smaller ships ( Class B).

From 1965, were (except 1975), organized alternately with the Tall Ships ' Races smaller regattas, their size but increased rapidly over the years. Since the mid-70s, these additional races were as significant as the regattas in the intervening years.

From 1973 to 2003 Berry Brothers & Rudd could that market the Cutty Sark Scotch Whisky, be as sponsors, and the regatta was at this time the name Cutty Sark Tall Ships ' Races. The sponsors also founded the Cutty Sark Trophy, an award for the crew, which contributes while racing on most international understanding and friendship.

Since 2003 the race has returned to her name "Tall Ships' Races ," and the Cutty Sark Trophy was renamed to Sail Training International Friendship Trophy. New sponsor was the city of Antwerp.

2006 celebrated the 50th anniversary of the first race under the patronage of the Duke of Edinburgh. As in previous years, hundreds of thousands of visitors came to the regatta ports to view the subscriber ships. The destination port of Antwerp alone, 750,000 visitors came to the anniversary edition of the Tall Ships ' Races.

Given the undiminished popularity of the event for participants and audience were made in 2007, two independent regattas: The Tall Ships ' Races 2007 Mediterranean in the Mediterranean and The Tall Ships' Races Baltic 2007 in the Baltic Sea.