Tall Ships Begin Arriving In Bermuda
Tall ships are arriving in Bermuda after overcoming strong winds … and no winds!
Altogether 19 ships will visit Bermuda, one of the stops on the Rendez-Vous 2017 Tall Ships Regatta, a 7,000 nautical mile Trans-Atlantic race to six countries to mark the 150th Anniversary of the Canadian Confederation through its founders and founding provinces.
On the voyage to Bermuda from the Canary Islands, the ships were becalmed and they then had to battle the same winds that caused the delay of the opening day of the America’s Cup.
But now they are arriving in St George’s and more are expected to arrive today with the Italian Naval ship, the Amerigo Vespucci, berthing on Front Street.
Cindy Campbell, Event Chairman, Tall Ships Bermuda 2017, said: “The ships are a fantastic sight and I would urge everyone to come to St George’s and to Hamilton to see them.”
Some other tall ships taking part in another leg of the Regatta, from Charleston to Bermuda, have also arrived in St George’s.
Pride of Baltimore II berthed in St George’s just after midnight on Friday, ten hours ahead of its nearest rival, When and If.
Pride guest crew member Rick Huether, said: “The crossing was good, it went very quickly, we had the wind with us. We stayed on one tack almost all of the way.”
The crew worked in shifts of four hours on and four hours off and said the work was very physical.
Another guest crew member Jonathan Hyde added: “You get to see how a team works and there is a lot of team work involved.”
While the ships in Bermuda a huge variety of events has been planned to celebrate their stay.
Tomorrow [May 30] there is a Cultural Day in St. George’s from 10am to 4pm and there will be a Welcome to Bermuda Festival at Penno’s Wharf, St. George’s on Wednesday [May 31] from 6pm to 10pm and on the following day, June 1, there’s a Welcome Street Festival on Front Street from 7pm to 11pm as the ships will be in Hamilton.
One of the highlights is a concert by Bermuda’s own Collie Buddz on June 2, at City Hall car park, with part of the proceeds going to Sail Training Bermuda, a Registered Charity, # 612. People can get tickets from www.ptix.bm.
It is still not too late for trainees, aged sixteen and over, to sign up to join other legs of the voyage. Anyone interested can email trainee@tallships.bm
After Boston, the ships will sail for Halifax and then LeHavre, in France, where the race is due to finish on September 3.
More details can be found at www.tallshipsbermuda.com
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Indeed a fantastic sight but I was under the impression they were all going to St. George’s first then parade into Hamilton together.