Galway aims high with bid for Tall Ships race

The city could be saying ‘ahoy!’ again to two world class sailing events over the coming years. Galway Harbour has confirmed it is working behind the scenes to bring the famous Tall Ships race to the city in 2018.
It is also hopeful that the city could secure the return of the Volvo Ocean Race in 2020. Harbour CEO Eamon Bradshaw was optimistic and hopeful about securing the major events but cautioned it wouldn’t be all plain sailing and that funding would have to be sourced.
“We’re working hard with Galway City Council for the Tall Ships to come here in 2018; we’re hoping to get there. The Harbour Master has made a submission to the City Council in terms of the Tall Ships. All this takes money of course to bring them here,” he said.
The Tall Ships race is an annual competitive European event for vessels classified as ‘tall’, featuring a number of races on a set route with interim stops in different ports.
Dublin and Waterford have hosted the Tall Ships before and they were hailed as a huge success. Galway Harbour’s plan to attract the event to the city is currently with Galway City Council Chief Executive, Brendan McGrath.
Meanwhile, Mr Bradshaw says he is hopeful of landing the Volvo Ocean Race stopover for Galway in 2020, following on from the two successful Volvo stopovers here in 2009 and 2012.
For more on this story, see the Galway City Tribune.