Hartlepool 2010 Tall Ships Race ( 09/08/10 )

The most anticipated event of my own calendar in 2010 !

Ever since I first heard of the 2010 Tall Ships Race in Hartlepool, I booked the week-end off months in advance.

I have always loved Tall Ships for as long as I can remember and the last time I saw some of these sailing giants gathered in a port was in St Malo back in the mid eighties.

Judging by the incredible popularity of this event, I was not the only one and the figures simply speak for themselves :

3 millions Visitors over three days for the largest free event of 2010 in the UK !

And was it worth of my expectations !

The Organizers of the 2010 Hartlepool Tall Ships Race had prepared everything to perfection including a perfectly readable and very attractive website which highlighted the events scheduled over the three days celebrating the Golden Age of Sailing Ships.

The race started at Anwerp in Belgium then called at Aalborg in Denmark, then Kristiansand in Norway and arrived in Hartlepool on 07th August 2010 covering a total of 998 miles.

As soon as I arrived in the specially designated parking area next to the marina, I was greeted by a forest of tall masts all dressed in the flying colors of a multitude of little flags.

And the first sight of these Sea Giants anchored together was simply breathtaking !

From the wonderful details of sculpted figureheads to the towering masts to the elegant lines of the ships, everything invited the Visitor to step back into the time of the Golden Age of Sailing Ships.

And I did step aboard a few of these magnificent vessels with their immaculate wooden decks and shiny brass.

The celebration would not have been completed without a selection of food from around the world and one could enjoy Carribbean delights while another tucked into French Crepes and the many other delicacies available in the dozens of appetizing stands.

But my time In Hartlepool was far from over as I still had to discover the Maritime Experience Museum and what an experience this has been !

The Maritime Experience is a unique concept which evolves around a recreated 18th century port completed with shops reminiscent of the era down to the smallest detail and the crown jewel of the Museum is the magnificent HMS Trincomalee, a frigate of the Napoleonic era and the oldest British warship still afloat.

The Hartlepool Maritime Experience has to be the most amazing and unforgettable of all attractions I have seen so far in the UK and I only hope that my pictures will do it justice.

Boarding the HMS Trincomalee is an experience like no other, and wandering through the delightful shops filled with artifacts of the era and even the typical sounds of an 18th century port is magical !

The cherry on the cake came in the shape of members of the Hartlepool Victorian Society which reenacted scenes of the 18th century in “Meet the Georgians”, a truly delightful experience.

Hartlepool has exceeded all expectations I had about my visit and will remain one of the finest experience I have enjoyed in my travels so far.

Karim