If you watched ‘Master and Commander’ or ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ with the Black Pearl and fancied yourself at the helm or up the rigging on a Tall Ship, now is your chance!

With more laughs than Johnny Depp as Capt Jack Sparrow and more life experiences to change your world than you'd find on land how could a budding adventurer refuse...!?

The race starts in Vigo, Spain (30 April – 3 May), from where the fleet will be racing to Tenerife, Canaries (14-17 May).

The first Trans Atlantic race will then take the fleet to Bermuda (12-15 June), and then on to Charleston, USA (25-29 June).

The fleet will then wind their way up the east coast of the USA to Boston, Massachusetts (8-13 July) and then on to Halifax, Canada (16-20 July) before the final Atlantic crossing eastwards back to Belfast, UK (13-16 August).

A few of the Tall Ships taking part in this summer’s Tall Ships Atlantic Challenge 2009 have berths available with some of them now offering a discounted rates to lucky adventurers.

The great thing about the Tallships events is they not only provide a spectacle and an inkling as to what the waters and harbours of the past may have looked like but a truly inspiring and life changing experience for the young and old that take part.

Boatshed.com members are firm fans and participants past and present of the Tallships event and on many occasions are overwhelmed from the excitement and support such an experience brings out not only in the crew taking parts on the boats but also from the towns and cities lucky enough to be included in the list of host ports.

The crew parades truly are an experience that can not be described and rarely replicated in life, unless you become an international famous actor or celebrity!!

Participants can take part in any one leg of the event, or multiple legs if time permits. No experience is necessary as all training will be given on board the ship. The only requirement is a spirit of adventure and the bottle to take on the challenge

A trainee is aged from 16 to 25 years and bursaries are available so anyone who would like to take advantage of this chance to sail in this event should contact us now.

The British yacht 'Jolie Brise', will have students of Dauntsey’s School aboard whilst the the Dutch Tall Ship 'Tecla', which is owned and operated by a family, including their dog, has some places available with only the final race from Halifax to Belfast has an age restriction of between 15 and 25 years.

'Kaliakra', a beautiful Tall Ship from Bulgaria, This ship will have a number of different nationalities on board although the main language will be English. Great for anyone who would like to experience some cultural exchange on the way.

For those that like to be closer to the water and want to experience a modern yacht, the fast and high performance yacht, Xsaar, from Belgium, is the one for you.

Full details on all these offers with contact details can be found on the Tall ships Races website, contact us at tallships@boatshed.com or drop us line on 02392 523 992 alternatively our friends who organize the whole event can be found at . Tall ships Races

Look out for the forthcoming on board blogs from the crew as they search the seven seas (well actually 2 in this event) and if your lucky enough to live close to one of the hosting ports don’t be a land lubber come aboard and see us!

The race's are also worked on with Sail Training International

For further information contact
Corinne Hitching, Media Manager for Sail Training International.
Tel: 077641 83866
Email: Corinne.hitching@sailtraininginternational.org