There is just something truly special about these incredible ships. For one, you just don’t see very many of them other than in films. I showed the picture above of the Christian Radich ship to my three-year old nephew and he just gasped and said ‘Pirates!’…(he’s a little obsessed with pirates at the moment). If you’re as excited by the sight of the Christian Radich as my nephew, you’ll be pleased to know it will be one of the ships featuring in the regatta.
Falmouth to Royal Greenwich Tall Ships Regatta 2014
All ye landlubbers prepare your sea legs – tall ships are coming to the UK!
Lot’s of tall ships ahoy! This photo by Arne List is from a tall ships regatta in Kiel, Germany. It’s a scene that you can expect to see at UK shores come the end of August.
Falmouth to Royal Greenwich Tall Ships Regatta 2014
If you want to come aboard, you’ll need to head down to Falmouth in Cornwall or to Greenwich in London… More details below but if you’re thinking what a great opportunity to drive through the lovely English countryside to follow them on land, we’ve got low-cost car hire at locations throughout the country. To find one to suit you and to get a quote, visit our UK car hire page.
The Falmouth to Royal Greenwich Tall Ships Regatta is not just a mouthful – it’s set to be the biggest show of tall ships the country’s seen in a very long while! And with both areas planning a festival of events including fireworks and live music alongside ship activities, I reckon it’s worth a visit.
The majority of events including ship visits whilst they are moored are free. Hurrah!
Falmouth, Cornwall – 28 to 31 August
Maenporth at Falmouth Bay
Photo by Tim Green. As you can see from this picture, there are also some lovely beaches around here too…
The fun starts off in Falmouth where 47 sail boats including 11 square sail tall ships (what my nephew would refer to as pirate ships) will arrive at Falmouth Docks. For three days from 28 to 30 August, they’ll stay here where they will be open to the public to explore.
On 31 August, they will set off for a parade around the bay before racing to the Isle of Wight at 3.00pm. You won’t be able to come aboard but there will be plenty of opportunity to admire the ships in all their sailing glory from the harbour.
From the Isle of Wight, they will cruise on down to Royal Greenwich docks and arrive on 4 September.
For more information on festival events in Falmouth, visit: www.falmouthtallships.co.uk. You can also download a flyer with events here.
Royal Greenwich, London – 5 to 9 September
Beneath the Cutty Sark
Photo by Karen Roe. Greenwich has a rich maritime history and the Cutty Sark is a local resident. In this pic, you can see how you can walk beneath the ship. The Cutty Sark will also be hosting some activities as part of Greenwich’s Tall Ships Festival.
Presumably, if you’re along the Thames from the Thames Estuary to Greenwich on the Thursday (4 September) they arrive, you should see them cruising through… What is certain (because it’s in the programme) is that there will be plenty of opportunity to see them sailing along the Thames as well as come aboard whilst they’re moored. You can find full details of all the various activities and timings in the Tall Ships Festival programme here: www.royalgreenwich.gov.uk/tallships. Also, the number of boats here will have increased so you can expect 60-plus tall ships for the Regatta’s finale!
The key spots to be in if you do want to come aboard to explore while they are moored are:
Maritime Greenwich Greenwich Peninsula Royal Arsenal Woolwich
For a full guide to events in London for the festival, visit: www.royalgreenwich.gov.uk/tallships
Feel the wind in your hair and go on a tall ship cruise!
Canary Wharf and North Greenwich area at sunset
Photo by Duncan Harris
If you’re thinking you want to do more than just come aboard while a ship is moored, there are a series of tall ship cruises in the Thames everyday of the festival in Greenwich with standard ticket prices from £59.90 to £159.90. There will be several cruises a day as well as an evening cruise where you can watch the fireworks too! If you really want to go all out, there is a VIP evening cruise that will take you as far as Tower Bridge – I don’t think it actually goes through Tower Bridge, which is a shame as it would be fun to go under the drawbridge – I could be wrong though! Finally, there is also the opportunity to take part in the final parade of ships on 9 September.
Sights on a tall ship cruise include the Thames Barrier, Canary Wharf, the O2 and London’s cable cars (I’d recommend checking out the sights from up high on a cable car too!).
You can find more information on each of these cruises as well as book tickets here: www.sailroyalgreenwich.co.uk/en/thamestallshipcruise
Thames Barrier
Tall ships with their sails packed away in the Thames
Tower Bridge opening up for a tall ship
Photo of the Thames Barrier by itsbruce and pics of ships in the Thames by Lunamodule
Inspired to take sail?
If all this is making you love the idea of setting sail for the high seas, do check out Sail Training International to find out about sail training and opportunities to go on train on one of these magnificent tall ships. It’s worth having a read of these stories of tall ship trainees too so you can gain an insight into what it would be like…