Photos

Young sailor from the Russian ship , Mir

History

This Nautical Event has a particular significance for the City of Lisbon and for Portugal, as it commemorates not only the 50th Anniversary of the First Tall Ships’ Race, but also the fact of these Races being idealized, in 1954, by the Portuguese Ambassador to the United Kingdom and the London Solicitor Bernard Morgan, with the aim of gathering together the Tall Ships still operative after the 2nd World War. The other objective, was to provide a way for young trainees to embark on these Sailing Ships and thus improve their personal abilities and skills, through the work and life on board and cooperation with youngsters of other nationalities.

Having succeeded to obtain the support of Lord Mountbatten and of the Duke of Edinburgh, these two seafarers, together with other influent people of the nautical world, formed a Comission to start to organize the Race, which was to be launched in 1956, with the participation of 20 large and medium Sailing Ships, amongst which were the old Sail Training Ship “SAGRES”, now in Hamburg, and the yacht “BELLATRIX” , property of the Ambassador, already dismantled.

The success of this event was such that, since that date, the Races never ceased to happen, first, every two years and after 1964, annually, accompanying the refitting and the construction of more and more new ones, the number of Training Ships participating in these Races increased to 100 or 120 units, representing countries from Europe, North and South Americas, Asia and Oceania.

Since 1956, the City of Lisbon, has been connected to the Tall Ships’ Races, having received the Sailing Ships and their crews participating in the Races of 1964, 1982, 1992, 1998 (coinciding with the EXPO) in Lisbon, as well as the City of Oporto, which received this Race in 1994.

General race program

St-Malo - France - 6-9 July
Race 1 - St-Malo/Torbay to Lisbon - 10-20 July
Lisbon - Portugal - 20-23 July
Cruise in company 1 - Lisbon to Cadiz - 23-26 July
Cádiz - Spain - 26-29 July
Cruise in company 2 - Cádiz to Coruña - 29-7 August
La Coruña - Spain - 7-10 August
Race 2 - La Coruña to Antwerp - 10-19 August
Antwerp - Belgium - 19-22 August

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