Magnificent tall ships prepare to sail into Falmouth, Cornwall from 15th August

The historic port of Falmouth will host some of the world's finest tall ships for the start of the prestigious race, Magellan Elcano from the 15th until the 18th of August. This will be the sixth time that Falmouth has hosted this special occasion. The fleet includes five Class A ships, around 750 international captains and crew members, and tens of thousands of visitors, who will be in Falmouth over four days.

The previous event took place in 2014. The vibrant Cornish port is a perennial favourite of captains and crew alike, as the whole town comes alive with events, live music, receptions and parades as it welcomes around 750 international captain and crew members, and 100,000 visitors over four days. Across the event, there will be numerous, free portside events including music concerts, a crew parade and light and laser displays.

Purposefully low-priced ticketed access to the ships themselves will be available on the first three days before the free, showcase finale – the Parade of Sail – on Friday 18th August. Tall ships races are organised globally by Sail Training International. Following the race start in Falmouth, the other legs in the Magellan Elcano series are A Coruña in Spain, Lisbon in Portugal and Cádiz, in Spain.
 

The five impressive Class A vessels taking part in the race are Cuauhtémoc, Georg Stage, Dar Modziey, Fryderyk Chopin and Capitán Miranda. The largest of the fleet is the Polish ship Dar Modziey, a magnificent three-masted frigate which is one of the largest training sailing ships in the world. Dar Mlodziezy, which means Gift of Youth, is referred to as one of the most beautiful ships in the world and is impossible to miss at 94 metres long!  Visitors should also look out for Cuauhtémoc, the Mexican sail training vessel. She’s 78 metres long and her colourful crew numbering over 100, will likely adorn the yard arms on arrival into port and fly a giant Mexican flag off the stern.

Tickets to access these ships are on sale and are priced at £5.00 for adults and £2.50 for children and visitors are strongly encouraged to purchase online in advance via the SeeTickets platform. There’ll be a range of local maritime charities and organisations in the docks and visitors can meet the representatives and find out more about the valuable work they do in Falmouth, Cornwall and further afield.
 

Look out for free to attend live music from the Will Keating & John Dowling, DM Street and Oasish plus a host of performing shanty groups. The free-to-view light and laser show will take place on both Wednesday and Thursday evenings over Falmouth Harbour. Vantage points will be in a host of places along the town waterfront from the National Maritime Museum Cornwall down to the Greenbank Hotel.

Full details are available from www.falmouth.co.uk/tallships