First tall ships race

The first tall-ships race took place between 30 June and 6 July 1956. A total of 20 ships took part in the revent, which was organized by the recently created Sail Training International Race Committee. The race started in Torbay, in Devon, UK, and ended in Lisbon, Portugal. The winner was the British ketch Moyana, operated by the Southampton University School of Navigation.

Although the age of sail had passed decades earlier, in the 1950s many navies and maritime organizations still maintained large sailing ships which they used for training cadets. It was thought that the rigors of operating these vessels was good preparation for a life at sea, even if the specific skills were no longer needed. In the age of the aircraft carrier and the atom bomb, however, these vessels were seen as an anachronism.

In 1953, a British sailing enthusiast named Bernard Morgan began trying to rally people around the idea of a "brotherhood of the sea" -- a competition that would gather these sailing vessels for what most assumed would be one last race before they were retired.

Morgan found an important supporter in the Portuguese ambassador Pedro Theotónio Pereira (who was also the owner of the yacht Bellatrix, which would later take part in the race). Earl Mountbatten and Prince Phillip were also both enthusiastic backers of the project, which was named the Sail Training International Race Committee in 1955.

The event was a huge success, attracting not only the 20 ships that took part but also huge crowds and reporters from all over the world. The impact it had led to the Sail Training International Race Committee becoming a permanently established organization, and the race becoming a regular event.

Of the 20 ships that competed in 1956, four are still active participants in STI racing events (Christian Radich, Sørlandet [both NOR], Maybe [NLD] and Georg Stage [DNK]). THe 1956 race was, however, the first and last victory of the Moyana – she foundered in a storm on her return voyage, and was lost, although her crew were all rescued (along with the trophy they had won).