TSR

The world’s largest sailing ships will arrive in Kotka

01.06.2017

 Port of HaminaKotka to host The Tall Ships Races 2017

The Port of HaminaKotka together with the City of Kotka will host The Tall Ships Races 2017 sailing event in Kotka from 13 to 16 July 2017. The most spectacular maritime event of the summer is expected to attract about 3,000 sailors and almost 100 vessels from 20 different countries. Kotka will also see the world’s biggest sailing ship, the Russian Sedov 122 metres long.

The Tall Ships Races 2017 is part of the international youth sailing event with friendly competition, taking place from 30 June to 8 August 2017. It is also one of the biggest public events in the centenary year of Finland’s independence.

The Port of HaminaKotka is responsible for receiving the ships at the Kantasatama Harbour and other parts of the port, and for organising the culmination of the event, the Parade of Sails, on Sunday 16 July from 15.00 onwards.

“The large and magnificent sail ships will set sail from Kantasatama in Kotka for their next leg to Turku. The departure will take place in parade formation, which means a truly impressive sight on the sea. We will even have suspend commercial traffic for a while so that we can set the sail ships safely on their voyage,” says Markku Koskinen, Director, Traffic Operations, of the Port of HaminaKotka.

The large ships have visited Kotka previously in 1992 and 2007. This year, the route will run from Halmstad in Sweden to Kotka and Turku in Finland and from there further to Klaipeda in Lithuania and Szczecin in Poland. Arranged since 1956, the event is executed by Sail Training International (STI), a British non-profit organisation. In Finland, STI is represented by Sail Training Association Finland.
 

Further information:
Director, Traffic Operations
markku.koskinen(at)haminakotka.fi
tel. +358 (0)20 790 8831

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