Tall Ships Race 2009 - Atlantic Challenge

This summer's Atlantic Challenge Tall Ships Festival willthe American Revolution began and is also the site of
begin on May 2nd.the Boston Tea Party, the Battle of Bunker Hill and
The ships will cross the North Atlantic twice, over 4Paul Revere's house. The festival will continue here
months, and cover a total of 7,000+ nautical miles,for seven days from July 7th-13, it will include public
following 500 year-old trade routes.cruises, the Salute Ball and of course the Parade of
On their initial journey they will benefit from theSail .
reliable, westward trade winds. With peaks to 13Then it's 370 miles north-north-east to Halifax , NS
meters per second (30 miles per hour) they'll provide(July 16th - 20th) where celebrations include the
for spectacular racing conditions.250th anniversary of this Canadian Naval Port and its
The vessels will congregate in Spain's busiest fishingrich seafaring traditions. Having hosted the tall ships
port, Vigo , between April 30 - May 3 for the startfour times in just over two decades, Nova Scotia is
of the first leg of the race. On May 3rd they willno stranger to the hundreds of thousands of people
begin a 900 nautical mile journey south-south-west towho come to witness these amazing festivals. More
Tenerife , the Capital of the Canary Islandsthan 600,000 visited Halifax for the 2007 event.
archipelago.The final race leg, starting on Monday July 20th, is
After four days (14 - 17 May) the armada's off to2,350 nautical miles eastbound across the mighty
the 21sq. mile island of Bermuda - 2,600 nautical milesNorth Atlantic to the final port of Belfast , Northern
to the west. They'll begin sailing into town on JuneIreland (13 - 16 August). During this crossing the
1st and will be the centerpiece of the island's 400thvessels will take advantage of the prevailing
Anniversary of permanent settlement.westerlies (predictably winds from the west to the
Beginning on June 15th, the fleet will slowly disappeareast).
over the western horizon, towards Charleston , SC.Belfast will play host to the tall ships Grand Finale
The ships will remain in port for six days (June 26th -Celebrations .
28th) before parading northward to the largest city in12 'Class A' vessels - the largest class of all the Tall
New England, Boston , Mass.Ships - will provide a magnificent backdrop to four
Boston previously hosted the tall ships in 1992 anddays and nights of nautical nirvana!
2000 and has history on every corner. It is where