The Oslo-based Christian Radich sailed triumphantly up the Oslo Fjord on Sunday after winning this year’s Tall Ships Races for the third time. All three of Norway’s traditional high-masted sailing ships could really stand tall, after claiming second- and third place as well.
The race that began last month with a triple victory for Norway ended that way too.
The Christian Radich had finished in first place after the first leg of the race from Antwerp to Aalborg, with the Bergen-based Statsraad Lehmkuhl coming in second and Sørlandet, which has its home port in Kristiansand, third.
Late last week, the race ended in Hartlepool on the west coast of England. Sørlandet won the last leg that had begun in its home port, but the Christian Radich had a better overall time and could thus claim the coveted “Cape Horn Trophy.”
More than 60 sailing ships from all over the world participated in this year’s Tall Ships Races, which aim to promote international friendship and keep traditional sailing methods alive by training youth who serve as crew. More than 50 percent of the crew on each vessel must be between 15 and 25 years of age.
The Tall Ships Races, held since 1956, consist of at least three stages, with two racing legs and a “cruise” in between.
Next year’s race will return to Norway and feature three racing legs. It will begin in Waterford, Ireland on June 30 and proceed to Greenock, Scotland. The so-called “cruise in company” will take the vessels to Lerwick in Shetland, before they all race across the North Sea to Stavanger, arriving from July 28.
A third racing leg will run from Stavanger and end in Halmstad, Sweden from August 5.
Views and News from Norway/Nina Berglund
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