They left Vigo in Spain in spectacular fashion yesterday. Almost 100 entries in the Cutty Sark international Tall Ships Race sailed out of the port on a 700-mile voyage to Dublin.
The first are expected to begin arriving in Dublin Port next Wednesday. The Argentinian navy sail training vessel, Libertad, is expected to arrive ahead of the fleet and will receive a 21-gun salute from the Army at Dun Laoghaire on Wednesday morning.
The Argentinians have a special connection with Ireland because the founder of their navy, Admiral William Brown, was from Foxford, Co Mayo. A naval contingent will travel to their founder's birthplace, where the locals made a great carnival of supporting Argentina in the World Cup. However, the citizens of Foxford will be disappointed if they think that the ship will cruise round the coast. The contingent will be going by bus.
Mr Bill Taylor, secretary of the Tall Ships committee which is organising the Irish event, said the spectacular side of the event for Dublin will be when all 97 vessels visiting Ireland depart at the same time on Tuesday, August 25th, in what is known as a "parade of sail". The ships are expected to be joined by a flotilla of Irish vessels to see them on their way.
A well-recognised event on the international sailing calendar, the race began its first leg from Falmouth in England in mid-July to Lisbon, Portugal. The ships then "cruised in company" from Lisbon to Vigo, the starting point for the second leg.
The 97 vessels visiting Ireland include 15 "tall" ships, and the biggest is the Russian vessel, Zedov, which is the largest sailing vessel in the world still in use. It is owned by a technical academy in Murmansk and has a crew of 230.
The Mexican naval vessel, Cuauhtemoc, is also expected to be an early arrival. It did not take part in the second leg of the race, remaining in Lisbon for Expo '98. Other large vessels visiting the capital include the Colombian ship, Gloria, and the Lord Nelson which was specially built to be crewed by people with a disability and run by the Jubilee Trust charity with a crew of 50. Another participant is Ireland's sail-training vessel Asgard II.
The Russians have a number of participants including Mir, which has a crew of 180, and the Kruzenshtern with a crew of 220. Other "tall" visitors are from Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark and Bulgaria.
The finishing line is 20 miles south of Dublin, just off Wicklow Head, and most of the vessels are expected to cruise up to Dublin port, with the entire fleet due in by Saturday. There will be space for every vessel along a stretch of the Liffey from the toll bridge to the Matt Talbot Bridge.
