Tall Ships Tour Australia
The International Tall Ship Festival, incorporating the Sydney Auckland Tall Ship Regatta, is now underway with the first of 20 tall ships – the Oosterschelde, Tecla and Europa from The Netherlands, and the Lord Nelson from the UK – arriving in Fremantle last month beginning a grand tour of Australasia.
More than 1500 places are also available for members of the public to join a tall ship for ocean passages and coastal voyages to Melbourne, Hobart, Sydney and Auckland. Voyages are open to people of all ages and backgrounds, and no sailing experience is required, professional crew explaining and teaching navigation, sail handling and square rig sailing.
Rarely do tall ships from the Northern Hemisphere visit Australia these days and most of the vessels sailing here are undertaking world voyages, cruising the seven seas to also visit Africa, Asia, Europe, Antarctica and the Americas.
Stephen Moss, president of the Australian Sail Training Association said: “We are delighted to be able to host the largest gathering of Tall Ships in Australia and New Zealand for a generation. This event will help to establish a vision of sail training within Australia and convey the excitement, challenge and romance of tall ship sailing to millions of young Australians”.
The three-month Festival Program will see tall ships celebrating with parades of sail, street parades and festivals in several cities, including the International Fleet Review celebrating 100 years since the first entry of the Royal Australian Navy’s Fleet into Sydney Harbour.