The Harlingen Sail Foundation announces a number of new ships coming to Harlingen from 3 to 6 July at the Tall Ships Races. Among others, the Royalist from Britain, the Norwegian Statsraad Lehmkuhl and the Dutch tall ship the Artemis will call at the Friesian port city. All three ships fall into the A category, which is the category with largest tall ships in the world.

It will be a special event for the Artemis. The Dutch tall ship is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. No less than 97 metres long, the Statsraad Lehmkuhl is one of the largest tall ships coming to Harlingen. This tall ship has room for as many as 150 trainees.

Pascual Flores from Spain and Kapitan Borchardt from Poland are also coming to Harlingen in July. With its three masts and 400 m2 of sail area, the Pascual Flores is a true icon of the sailing tradition of the Torrevieja region of Spain. The tall ship is a tribute to the pailebotes that once transported salt, fruit and other cargo in the Mediterranean and beyond. Dating back to 1917, the Kapitan Borchardt is more than a century old. In those years, the tall ship has had many different owners and names. Did you know that she was once even called Harlingen? 

Besides these tall ships, the Atlantica from Sweden, the Cekritito from Estonia, Penlena from Britain, Ryvvingen from Norway and Saeftinghe from Belgium are also coming to Harlingen. With this, the Harlingen Sail Foundation has already confirmed 20 tall ships.

Sail along as a trainee on one of the tall ships

On all tall ships, trainees sail on board. Young people aged between 15 and 25 can apply to sail on one of the tall ships from Aarhus to Harlingen. About 250 young people can participate in total. We think it is important that everyone can participate, regardless of knowledge, experience or background. It does not matter whether a young person has sailing experience or not, what the financial possibilities of the young people or parents are, and whether someone has mental or physical disabilities,' Krol said. 'We help young people get the trip of a lifetime done. In the run-up to the trip, for example, we organise a special training programme in which the young people learn how to raise the entry fee themselves. Trainees who want to join this training programme, we urge them to sign up as soon as possible.'