Tall ships arrive in Falmouth
The coastal town is hosting the start of a "prestigious" tall ships race
A fleet of tall ships are arriving in Falmouth as the town hosts the start of the "prestigious" tall ships race, Magellan Elcano.
Tall Ships Falmouth 2023 takes place from Tuesday 15 August - Friday 18 August. It's the sixth time the town has hosted the regatta and race, with the previous one being in 2014. The inaugural event was held in 1966.
The town will welcome around 750 international captain and crew members, as well as 100,000 visitors over the four days.
The race starts on Friday, following a course to A Coruna in Spain, then onward to Portugal’s capital, Lisbon before finishing in Cadiz, Spain.
The Tall Ships Races Magellan Elcano series will celebrate the first circumnavigation of the world by Ferdinand Magellan and Sebastián Elcano over 500 years ago.
Around 11 vessels are expected in Falmouth, including five Class A ships.
Falmouth Town Manager, Richard Gates, tells us it's "quite a spectacle":
"We’re really excited to be the venue for the start of the races. As always, we look forward to the truly awe-inspiring spectacle of the tall ships as they sail into the harbour.
"You'll have three days in port, thank you to A&P, so you'll be able to visit the ships in there. There'll be some other activities within the docks and there are various other things in the town - there's a free performance space for people to enjoy performances on Events Square, the tent from Falmouth Week will stay up on Church Street car park and there's other performances in there."
Before the race on Friday, there will be a Parade of Sail. This will see the tall ships, along with hundreds of supporting local boats, yachts, and marine craft, sail in company from their moorings, along the coast past Pendennis headland and Falmouth’s beaches.
Richard adds: "People can watch this from numerous vantage points all along the seafront. We do ask people to be sensible and mindful. It will be busy, there will be a lot of cars and vehicles, so try as best you can to use public transport.
"There will be some traffic restrictions in place, particularly along the seafront side. We have standard road closures through the town centre through all four days but that is really just the immediate town centre, so people can walk being walking back and forwards through there. The town is very much open, the further restrictions are really only up on the seafront and the main arterial route into the docks and that's primarily for the Friday."
Tickets are needed to gain access to Falmouth Docks and go on board the tall ships. They cost ÂŁ5.00 for adults and ÂŁ2.50 for children (under 16).