Tall Ships and their crews on the water off Falmouth for the famous race

The Tall Ships Race Parade of Sail is in Falmouth and a popular annual event in European waters. The Statsraad Lehmkuhl is a three-masted barque rigged sail training vessel owned and operated by the Statsraad Lehmkuhl Foundation. It is based in Bergen, Norway and contracted out for various purposes, including serving as a school ship for the Royal Norwegian Navy.

Port towns from the UK to the Baltics and the Mediterranean apply to hold the prestigious competition and the majestic schooners draw large crowds. Many ships now fall into the Tall ship category if they are traditionally rigged but they compete in different classes according to size and rigs. The races have been sponsored by among others, the port cities of Antwerp and Szczecin and Cutty Sark Whisky. As these majestic sailing vessels were coming under threat an idea by a London solicitor to use them for cadet ships proved so popular in 1956 that the race is now held annually. Fifty per cent of the crew are youth cadets and many seafaring nations send their prestigious flagship Tall Ship to compete.