Falmouth Tall Ships opens to thousands of visitors
by Rhona Gardiner 17 Aug 2023 10:03 BST
16 August 2023
The Cornish sun shone on the Falmouth Tall Ships again today (Wednesday 16th August) as thousands of visitors made their way to the port to experience the impressive ships, the Crew Parade and the surrounding maritime cultural and free events.
Following the proactive organisers' advice about queuing procedures, there were much shorter and smoother waiting periods, with a maximum of 40 minutes from the very end of the queue onto a ship itself at the most busy time.
Richard Wilcox of the Falmouth Tall Ships organisers said; 'Thank you to everyone for supporting the event today. Our more robust queuing system both inside the docks area before the venue gate, and for the ships, worked really well. We had thousands of happy people of all ages through the gates and onto the amazing Class A Tall Ships. The Crew Parade through Falmouth, was as ever, a colourful and spectacular site, and a high point of the week's activities."
Richard continued, "We're now all very much looking forward to tonight's first-of-its-kind Falmouth lights and laser show! For ten minutes from 1030pm, people can watch the skies over Falmouth come alive with a display that can be viewed that can be experienced from anywhere between The Greenbank Hotel and The National Maritime Museum Cornwall and alongside the lit-up Tall Ships, this is one not to be missed."
"As each day passes, we are ever more grateful for the phenomenal support of over 200 Falmouth volunteers on-the-ground, as we are for all the ships, their Captains and their crews for making these visits possible."
All of the relevant travel info is on www.falmouth.co.uk/tallships and people should allow time to get into town and find a parking spot, and also know in advance how far the walking distance is to the docks.
CANCELLATION OF FALMOUTH TALL SHIPS PARADE OF SAIL
A statement from Richard Gates, on behalf of Falmouth Tall Ships organising group and Paul Bishop, MBE, Race Director of The Tall Ships Races Magellan-Elcano:
It is with great regret that, due to the adverse and continually deteriorating weather conditions, all of the organisations and partners involved in The Tall Ships Races Magellan-Elcano have made the difficult decision to cancel all Parade of Sail arrangements on Friday 18 August.
In addition, The Magellan-Elcano Race Start, will now be a virtual Race Start at sea on Saturday 19 August.
Arranging and delivering a public event of this size and spectacle, both on land and at sea, requires contributions from multiple organisations, including the emergency services, to ensure the safety of all involved. After evaluating all possible alternatives, it is the safety requirement and the welfare of the vessel crews that have been the foremost considerations when making this collective decision.
The Magellan-Elcano Tall Ships Race is a multi-port event, and this decision is also vital to enable ships and their crews to arrive in A Coruña in good time.
The team has taken a multitude of weather forecasts for both Friday and Saturday into careful, professional consideration. Ships will now be departing individually on Saturday, dependent upon the dynamic weather conditions and safety considerations for the ships and their crews.
The team recognises the bitter disappointment that will be experienced by everyone involved and invested in Falmouth Tall Ships. This includes the public, the crews, the local businesses, the sponsors and supporters, the volunteers and liaison officers, and everyone who has played a vital part in organising this impressive showcase within Cornwall's historic port town.
We hope that everyone affected by this decision will understand and appreciate the circumstances which have led to it."