With around 280,000 visitors, Sail Harlingen 2026 came to an end on Monday. For four days, the historic harbour town provided the backdrop for nearly 40 tall ships, some 1,500 crew members and all those thousands of visitors. Despite the strong wind, which accompanied the event for virtually the whole weekend, one feeling prevailed: satisfaction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018Saying goodbye is never easy,\u2019 reflected Sail director Lieuwe Krol after Monday\u2019s Sail Out Parade. \u2018But what you keep in your heart, you\u2019ll never lose.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sail Harlingen kicked off on Thursday with a first. For the first time, the event was extended to include an opening night, during which the Royal Netherlands Navy Band, together with Floor Jansen, Melissa Pander and Wiebe van Dijk, gave a concert at Willemshaven. The traditional Sail In Parade followed the next day, as the international fleet sailed into Harlingen. After that, the tall ships, their crews and the trainees took centre stage for four days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During the Crew Parade, the city centre was brought to life by the flags of dozens of countries. New encounters and friendships were forged both on board and on the quays. It is precisely this that has been the strength of the Tall Ships Races for seventy years. Organised under the banner of Sail Training International (STI), the event is not just about historic sailing ships, but above all about the hundreds of young people from all over the world who, on board, learn to work together, take responsibility and push their boundaries. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
On Monday afternoon, the tall ships left the harbour one by one. This year, it took place in a special way. As each ship set sail, the national anthem of its country of origin rang out across the harbour. It made for a dignified and emotional farewell to the crews who had become a familiar sight in Harlingen over the past few days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Afterwards, Krol expressed his appreciation to everyone who had made Sail Harlingen possible. \u2018Our volunteers and visitor guides deserve a huge round of applause. Even at the busiest times, they remained welcoming, helpful and committed. They truly were the face of Sail Harlingen.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He also thanked Harlingen Council, the Port of Harlingen, the emergency services, the many partners, sponsors and the local residents: \u2018You can never organise an event of this scale on your own. Thanks to the dedication, trust and willingness of all these parties, we have once again been able to show what Harlingen is great at.\u2019 <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Krol also expressed his appreciation for the high level of media interest. \u2018There was a great deal of attention from national and regional media this year. We are incredibly grateful for that. Thanks to all those reports, photos and stories, a great many people have been able to see what Sail Harlingen and our city have to offer. That really puts Harlingen on the map.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After four days of music, culture, socialising and maritime experiences, calm returns to the harbour. The tall ships are setting sail for Antwerp, for the next leg of The Tall Ships Races 2026, but the memories of Sail Harlingen will live on for a long time to come. \u2018That certainly applies to the trainees, who can look back on an unforgettable journey during which they got to know not only the sea but also themselves better.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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\u2018Met trainees die niet alleen de zee maar ook zichzelf beter leerden kennen\u2019 Met ongeveer 280.000 bezoekers kwam maandag een einde aan Sail Harlingen 2026. Vier dagen lang vormde de historische havenstad het decor van bijna 40 tall ships, zo\u2019n 1.500 bemanningsleden en al die duizenden bezoekers. Ondanks de stevige wind, die het evenement vrijwel […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":10708,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10695","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nieuws"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/harlingensail.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10695","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/harlingensail.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/harlingensail.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harlingensail.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harlingensail.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10695"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/harlingensail.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10695\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10747,"href":"https:\/\/harlingensail.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10695\/revisions\/10747"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harlingensail.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10708"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/harlingensail.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10695"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harlingensail.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10695"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harlingensail.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10695"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}