It’s 2005 and Tall Ships grace River Tyne
AS THE TALL SHIPS REGATTA HEADS TO BLYTH, WE RECALL THE VISIT TO THE TYNE IN 2005
THE region is looking forward to the arrival of the Tall week.Ships Regatta later this
Magnificent vessels will sail into Blyth on Friday before setting off on a race to Gothenburg in Sweden next Monday.
It is expected the spectacular event will attract tens of thousands of visitors and earn millions for the local economy.
The event is no stranger to the region, of course. The Tall Ships Race first graced the River Tyne in 1986 when Her Majesty the Queen paid a visit to the Quayside, then again in 1993, before returning once more in 2005.
On that occasion, the cost of hosting the event was £1.5 million, but an estimated £50 million was generated for the local economy.
The Tall Ships Race has run annually in European waters since 1956, consisting of two races over hundreds of nautical miles. The spectacular event aims to foster understanding and friendly rivalry between young folk from around the world, and help instil teamwork and determination, as well as giving them seafaring skills.
The Chronicle, as ever, provided wide coverage as scores of majestic sailing ships arrived on the Tyne eleven years ago.
This is how we previewed the event in late July, 2005...
ON THE CREST OF A WAVE...
Hosting the Tall Ships event will be plain sailing for organisers this year as the brilliant boats have already weighed anchor on Tyneside twice before.
Yet visitors to the previous events in 1986 and again in 1993
will notice big changes this time around.
It’s always a spectacular sight – the Tyne filled with majestic sailing vessels – but 2005 promises to be even more special because for the first time the ships will be berthed along both sides of the river, instead of just on the Newcastle banks.
And it will bring into sharp focus the vast amount of regeneration that has gone on over almost two decades on both banks of the river.
In 1983 the regeneration had hardly started. Yet even since the last event in 1993, amazing new landmarks have risen from the ashes of the Tyne’s industrial past.
The Sage Gateshead music centre, Baltic and Millennium Bridge will of course be centre stage when the crews come to call. Those crews will also have a more international flavour.
There will be ships from as far as Indonesia, India and Oman, as well as from countries that have visited before like Russia and North and South America.
Although there were more vessels involved last time around, 122 compared to this year’s 105, there will be more of the big ‘crowd pullers’.
There will be 3,000 to 4,000 youngsters participating, and around one million visitors over the four days. The rules of the race say half of each crew has to be between sixteen and twenty-five years old, and they will come from over twenty countries.
Organised by Sail Training International, the event will see four days of activities, with racing between ports.
The ships will arrive on the Tyne having sailed from Cherbourg in France, and will travel on to Fredrikstad in Norway after their time here in the North East. ■■Our video clip recalling the race’s 2005 visit to the River Tyne comes courtesy of Northern Heritage Services Limited and their DVD, Tyneside Welcomes Tall Ships 2005. Visit their website www.northern-heritage.co.uk