THE much-anticipated Tall Ships Race begins today with a special Royal guest touring two of the vessels as part of the official opening.
Princess Anne is also due to meet all the captains of the stunning fleet when she arrives at Liverpool’s Albert Dock this lunchtime.
More than 70 vessels will be available for viewing by the public from noon until 10pm on the first day of the four-day maritime spectacular.
The tallest Class A ships are all at Wellington Dock, near Sandhills station, with the smaller Class B, C and D vessels at Albert, Salt- house, and Canning half-tide docks.
The race has attracted a vast array of ships right along the River Mersey, with crews from Sail Training International making up the competitors.
The Tall Ships’ race is expected to attract up to 800,000 visitors to the city, and makes up part of Merseyside Police’s biggest ever security operation. This is due to the par- allel managing of traffic and safety at the Open golf championship, taking place at Royal Birkdale golf course.
The race is one of the centrepieces of Liverpool’s Capital of Culture celebrations.
Lord Mayor Councillor Steve Rotheram said of the event: "It is thrilling to see friends from all over the world, some of whom will have visited Liverpool on previous Tall Ships visits in 1984 and 1992. With our world-renowned maritime legacy, the Tall Ships will find a natural home in the historic docks of Liverpool."
Ships have arrived from places as varied as Mexico, Oman and Holland to take part in the race. Hugo Sinke, a Dutch Navy commandant who is captaining Urania, a training ship of young cadets and midshipmen, said he was enjoying being in Liverpool as he sipped an Amstel on board his ship in the Albert Dock.
"I like the fact that it’s a cultural city," he said, "It’s such a nice combination – the Albert Dock, the restaurants and bars.
"When we arrived, it was a bad rainy day, but the skyline still looked great."
When asked about his prospects for winning the race, the Tall Ships veteran replied: "We’re going to do our best. I was on board in 1995 when we won, so that’s good cause enough to do it again."
Other events running alongside the event include the crew members’ games at the new Liverpool Aquatics Centre, in Wavertree, from 2pm-5pm, and the popular Shanties Festival, which launches at the Baltic Fleet pub at 8pm tonight.
Forty local young people are also involved in the race, funded by Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service. They will be sailing out of the docks on the Stavros S Niarchos. They were given the opportunity to sail without any prior experience, and have been in intense training since winning the berths last year.
Sail Training International (STI) is the organisation providing training for all the young people on the ships and is designed to develop and educate young people from different backgrounds through the hands-on experience of sailing, where teamwork is paramount.
The ships will remain in Liverpool until Monday, when they will set sail for Måløy, Norway on the first leg of the race, after a stunning Parade of Sail.
Ships in Wellington Dock can be boarded by the public, but those in Albert Dock must be viewed from the shore.
