Falmouth Tall Ships festival 2021 confirmed - with huge Parade of Sail planned
Falmouth Tall Ships festival will return in 2021, with 40 massive ships due to take part at the start of an international race.
The town has been selected as the Race Start Partner for the Tall Ships Magellan-Elcano 500 Series after original hosts Dunkirk pulled out.
Starting on Thursday, 19 August, the race will take a revised course starting in Falmouth Bay and finishing in Cadiz in Spain.
Ahead of the competition, a fleet of tall ships from around the world will arrive in the historic Cornish port.
They will be moored in the Carrick Roads and inner harbour, before embarking on a race to A Coruna in Spain.
It will be the sixth time Falmouth has hosted the tall ships, with the inaugural one for the town being held in 1966.
Organisers say the 2021 event will be operationally innovative while adhering to all necessary Government Covid-19 guidelines.
There will be no public access to the ships but instead the festival hosts are hoping visitors will be able to take tripper boats out into the Carrick Roads to view the tall ships up close.
There will be a schedule of onshore activities ahead of the race but a standout moment will likely be the Parade of Sail.
All of the tall ships, along with hundreds of supporting local boats, yachts and marine craft, will sail in company from their moorings in the Carrick Roads and inner harbour, along the coast past Pendennis headland and Falmouth’s beaches.
Falmouth Town Mayor Cllr Steve Eva said: "We have a strong pedigree in delivering memorable tall ships races and regattas over the years; they really hold a special place in the hearts and minds of so many.
"We greatly look forward to viewing the ships under full sail in Falmouth Bay once again."