L
ast summer 54 Tall Ships took part in a 10,000-
mile voyage from the UK to Canada and back,
commemorating the 150th anniversary of the
Canadian Confederation. The Rendez-Vous 2017 Tall
Ships Regatta visited Portugal, the Canary Islands,
Bermuda, Boston USA, many ports on Canada’s eastern
seaboard and in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, before
sailing back across the Atlantic for a fi nal stop-off in Le
Havre to help mark the French port’s 500th birthday.
It was a mammoth achievement for the boats and for
organiser Sail Training International, including as it did
more than 6,000 sail trainees. The fl eet included boats
from 22 nations, manned by 900 professional crew.
Overleaf teenager Rosa Bown, from Devon, who
crewed on Jolie Brise, one of the four boats that did the
entire trip (with Blue Clipper, Peter von Danzig and
Rona II), recounts her experience on leg one.
On page 58 you can fi nd out what Tall Ships events
are going on in 2018 and how you can get involved.Main photo: on board the 140ft (42m) schooner
Spirit of South Carolina, heading north to Maine
from Boston. The boat was launched in 2007,
based on the lines of the 1879 Charleston pilot
schooner Frances Elizabeth
MAIN PHOTO AND INSET: TYLER FIELDSL-r: old and young get jamming; 2011 barque Alexander von Humbolt II from Bremerhaven; young trainees get a taste of life afl oat