On the eve of their departure from La Coruña the crews of the five Barbados 50 yachts were treated to a spectacular fireworks display over the harbour of this historic city.
Their stopover in this favourite landfall after a successful crossing of the notorious Bay of Biscay coincided with the visit of 14 classic tall ships taking part in series of races.
La Coruña was the final port of the 2016 series and the city was welcoming the fleet back for the eleventh time – making it the host port to have hosted the most tall ships race events. An estimated 200.000 people visited the ships during the five days stay in La Coruña’s inner harbour.
Most ships are engaged in sail training, whether of naval crews or civilian aficionados. Some hailed from as far as Venezuela, represented by the 82 metre barque Simon Bolivar, closely matched by the Norwegian Statsraad Lehmkuhl, built in 1914 and the world’s oldest functioning barque.
Crew of Maryna II
The small Barbados 50 fleet was joined in La Coruña by the French Maryna II, a Lagoon 39 catamaran, and the British White Ibis, a Malo 39.
A convivial farewell dinner was enjoyed on the eve of departure where the two newcomers met the crews of Maisie, Stormbreaker and Lady Rebel.
With very light winds forecast for the 180 miles leg to Porto, it was agreed to let the boats start each in their own time.
On their way south to their next destination, they passed the distinctive Tower of Hercules, which has been marking the approaches to La Coruña for nearly 2000 years.
This is the only Roman lighthouse which, since its origins and up to the present, has been performing its original function as an aid to navigation.
The lighthouse was most likely built in the second half of the 1st century or the early years of the 2nd century A.D. by the Romans at finis terrae (Latin for ‘end of the world’) as in those days the north-western extremity of the Iberian Peninsula was considered as the end the known world.
Barbados 50 is sponsored by Barbados Tourism Marketing, Tenerife Port Authority, Promotur Turismo Canarias and the Patronato de Turismo de Lanzarote.
