Tall Ships

1: The replica 'Golden Hind'

Courtesy of Peter Parker

2: Training Ship 'Iris'

Courtesy of Peter Parker

3: Manning the Rigging

Courtesy of Peter Parker

Photographs of the competitors in the Tall Ships Race

By John Layton

As a famous poet once wrote:

'I long to go down to the sea again,
To the lonely sea and the sky,
And all I ask is a Tall Ship,
and a star to steer her by.'

One of the great sights to grace Great Yarmouth over the years must surely have been the ships and crews involved in the 'Tall Ships Race'.

Here are just a few photographs of the ships involved:

1: A replica of Sir Francis Drake's ship 'The Golden Hind'.  Originally a Spanish ship called 'The Pelican', it was captured by Drake, who then took it over as his own ship.

2. The Training Ship 'Iris'. These ships were manned by crews of young people, such as Sea Cadets and others, who were trained in the running of the ship.

3. Whatever the weather, the only way to raise and lower the sails, in the old days, was to send the crew up into the rigging to do it by hand.  Although mechanisation has helped, it could still be necessary if anything failed, so the crews are still trained to do the job...