Dozen young sailors to join Tall Ships Races

Twelve young Shetlanders will take part in the Tall Ships Races 2019 which set off from Aalborg in Denmark next month.

Sail training ship the Swan will depart Lerwick on 28th June to join the impressive fleet of ships in the Danish port. She will have 10 trainees on board.

A further two will join the Norwegian three-masted barque Statsraad Lehmkuhl to take part in the same
race from Aalborg to Fredrikstad in Norway.

The first race begins on 3rd July from Aalborg with the trainee groups disembarking on Saturday 13th July to start their return journey home.

Abi Marples, from Lerwick, is one of those taking part in the races, organised by Sail Training International and expects her time to be “amazing”.

The 21-year-old said: “‘I was fortunate to experience sailing on Swan thanks to Sail Training Shetland in 2014, taking part in Nordisk Sejlads between Norway, Sweden and Denmark. Now I can’t wait to get the chance to push myself further and experience life on board a much larger ship, Statsraad Lehmkuhl, and meet people from all over the world taking part in the Tall Ships Races.”

Sail Training Shetland chairman Peter Campbell said it was an incredible opportunity for all involved. “We are confident that their time on board will be very positive and look forward to learning of their sailing stories and race highlights when they return.”

He thanked Sail Training Shetland’s sponsors and supporters.