2 days after returning from Lewis we returned to Ullapool to see some of the ships in this years Tall Ships Race. The ships had finished the first race of the series and were cruising up to Lerwick for the start of the second race and a number of the ships called into Ullapool for the weekend. Knowing that David was going to be with us, I had managed to get some tickets to get on the pier and to get on one of the ships.
This is the Christian Radich, built in 1937 in Oslo and has always been used as a sail training ship. During the winter months she is used by the Norwegian navy and in the summer she takes school parties and does corporate entertaining as well as taking part in the Tall Ships Race, which she has won on a number of occasions. She has 1360 square meters of sail, 9000 meters of rope and her main mast is 37.7 meters tall
I cannot claim this last picture as one of mine, it was taken from a tall ships website
The other seriously large ship to call into Ullapool was the Gloria, and she anchored out in the Loch. Owned by the Columbian Navy and crewed by naval cadets. She made a stunning backdrop for the rescue display put on by the Lochinver Lifeboat and the Stornoway coastguard helicopter.
In addition to these 2 large ships there were also a number of smaller ones.
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| Jolie Brise |
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| Wylde Swan |
One of the rules of the Tall Ships Race is that 50% of the crew have to be between the ages of 15 and 25 and need not have any sailing experience, so there is always a mad scramble to buy a place on one of these ships when the races are announced, and a lot of the youngsters raise there own sponsorship in order to take part. Depending on the ship you wish to join, prices range from £250 to over a £1000 per race - but is sure looks like good fun.
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