The Tall Ships’ Races fleet are currently enjoying a relaxing cruise in company from Maløy to Bergen in Norway. The fleet have had the opportunity to exchange crews on an informal basis if they wanted, which gives some of the cadets on ships such as Mir (Russia), Dar Mlodziezy (Poland) and Shabab Oman (Oman) to experience life on board one of the smaller vessels in the fleet.
The journey between Maløy and Bergen is a beautiful area with many small fjords and inlets to explore. A number of the vessels will be sailing together in order to raft up and enjoy informal BBQs in the long summer evenings.
Cuauhtemoc from Mexico chose to stop at the small town of Sandane for its first night. (Photo) where they moored up in the fjord before going ashore to explore the area. Other ports being visited over the coming days are: Nordfjordeid, Stryn, Olden, Kalvag, Florø, Naustdal, Askvoll, Bygstad, Balestrand, Skjolden, Flam/Gudvangen, Strusshamn and Fedje.
The fleet are due to arrive in Bergen on Saturday 9 August for the four days of festivities before the second race to Den Helder, Netherlands, which starts on 12 August.
August 8, 2008 | admin
With just a few ships left to arrive in Maløy, and the final time limit for the race now passed, the provisional results are available. It should be noted that these will remain provisional until all Race Declaration Forms have been received from the ships. The final results will be announced on Friday 1 August at midday.
Jolie Brise (UK) the Class B vessel is provisional winner, on corrected time, of the first leg of The Tall Ships’ Races 2008. In second place is Stina Mari (Norway), also Class B, with the Class A Christian Radich (Norway) in third place.
In the Classes on corrected time, Christian Radich is the winner of Class A, with Mir (Russia) in second and Dar Mlodziezy (Poland) in third. Behind Jolie Brise and Stina Mari in Class B is Etoile (France). Provisional winners of Class C are Alba Explorer (UK) with Black Diamond of Durham (UK) in second and Spaniel (Latvia) in third. Winner of Class D is Assarain II (UK) with Lietuva (Lithuania) second and St Barbara V (UK) third.
Photo: Jolie Brise (UK) the overall winner of the first leg of The Tall Ships’ Races.
The majority of the fleet are now in Maløy with the remaining few due to arrive today. Many of the ships have corporate hospitality arranged for the coming days either in port or on day sails. The entertainment village is in the process of being put up with a magnificent stage built in the town square and lines of white tents which will be offering food, drinks and merchandise for sale. The entire town is getting involved in the event, with all the shop keepers dressed in special Tall Ships’ Races outfits and displaying Tall Ships’ Races items in their windows.
The first official day of the event in Maløy is tomorrow when the crew parade will take place through the town followed by what promises to be a very grand prize giving. Other events scheduled for the four days includes a special captains dinner, the venue for which has been kept secret, and the English rock band Status Quo, who are sure to rock the ships on Sunday evening.
July 31, 2008 | admin
Vessels have continued to cross the finish line throughout the day, and with these new finishers the class positions have altered slightly. This may continue to happen until all the vessels have crossed the finish line.
Overall on corrected time the leading three positions remain unchanged with Jolie Brise (UK) in first place, Stina Mari (Norway) in second and Christian Radich (Norway) in third. In Class A on corrected time Christian Radich is still in first place, with Mir (Russia) in second and now Dar Mlodziezy (Poland) moving up to third position. Behind Jolie Brise and Stina Mari in Class B on corrected time is now Etoile (France).
Classes C and D on corrected time remain unchanged from earlier stated positions as the majority of these vessels have crossed the finish line.
Winds remain frustratingly light off the Norwegian coast meaning it is taking time for the final vessels to get across the finish line. As a result the Race Committee have decided to bring forward the race time limit to tomorrow, Wednesday 30 July, 1200 GMT for Class A vessels, 1230 for Class B, 1245 for Class C and 1300 for Class D. This will time for the remaining vessels to start their motors and make better time to port without jeaopardising their racing positions due to the Sail Training International ‘Finish at Sea’ formula.
The vessels that have finished have received a warm welcome with the Liaison Officer system springing into action to ensure the vessels have full facilities operational. The captains have reported that they enjoyed the race which had certain tactical elements to it which added interest.
July 29, 2008 | admin
