The chairman of Falmouth Tall Ships Regatta organising committee, John Hick, has issued a personal message to all those heading to the port this week.

“Welcome to the start of the Falmouth to Royal Greenwich Regatta. I am delighted to be at the helm of this exciting event as chairman of the Falmouth Tall Ships Regatta organising committee.

The first Tall Ships race hosted by Falmouth was in 1966 with I believe just six large square riggers participating. Then in 1982 we hosted a race for some 100 vessels to Lisbon. In 1998, again a large fleet of over 100 vessels took part setting sail for Viga then Dublin. More recently in 2008 we hosted the Funchal 500 Regatta which was attended by over 30 vessels.

Over the past two years it has been an honour and a great pleasure to work with so many dedicated people and organisations to bring you this regatta. We have a huge amount of activities for everyone to enjoy and I would like to take this opportunity to welcome the various crews from around the world. We also have over 150 youngsters from Cornwall joining the race and I look forward to hearing of their adventures when they return.

The sea of masts in the harbour this week gives us a glimpse into our maritime heritage, when Falmouth was a major sailing port and I am delighted that Cornwall has been able to work together to bring what I am sure will be another great regatta to Falmouth.

On behalf of the organising committee, I hope you have a fantastic time during the regatta whether you are enjoying the spectacular afloat or onshore, I’m sure you will take pleasure in the activities provided throughout the town this week.”