Click the tartan to view its entry in The Scottish Registers of Tartans which includes registration details, restrictions, and registrant information.
Unregistered tartans may link to one of the web's online design environments for similar information.
For any questions about reproduction of designs or weaving of these tartans, please contact the registrant directly or via this website.
Tall Ships Racing Days
"I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by,
And the wheel's kick and the wind's song and the white sail's shaking,
And a gray mist on the sea's face, and a gray dawn breaking."
~ Sea Fever, John Masefield, 1902
Ahoy there! This striking tartan has become the official Tall Ships tartan. A tartan was chosen because it symbolizes the kinship of Scottish clans—a fitting representation of the bonds of fellowship forged through seamanship aboard a tall ship.
The design is intended to encapsulate the spirit of the sailor. Amalfi navy evokes the romance of the sea and sky with the freedom to explore, scholar green embodies the pioneering spirit of adventure and discovery, red damask recalls the demanding yet rewarding experiences that build courage and leadership, while the golden yellow rope detail symbolizes the time-honoured traditions of the Age of Sail.
Its inspiration is perfectly suited to the world's great tall ships—magnificent, traditionally rigged sailing vessels such as topsail schooners, brigantines, brigs, and barques that recall the Age of Sail. Spanning roughly the mid-16th to the mid-19th centuries, this was an era when international trade, exploration, and naval warfare were carried across the world's oceans by wind-powered ships and the power of the wind.
Today, that proud seafaring heritage lives on through the annual Tall Ships' Races, organized by Sail Training International. More than simply a race, the event brings together dozens of magnificent sailing ships and thousands of young trainees from around the world, who live and work together aboard the vessels while learning the timeless skills of traditional seamanship. The races are designed to foster international friendship, teamwork, leadership, and cultural exchange, with each host port welcoming the fleet for spectacular festivals, public ship tours, parades of sail, and celebrations. First held in 1956 with just 20 of the world's remaining large sailing ships, this year's races, running from June 24 to August 2, will visit the host ports of Aarhus, Denmark; Harlingen, The Netherlands; Antwerp, Belgium; Stavanger, Norway; and Aalborg, Denmark. 💙 💚 ❤️ 💛 ⚓ 🚢 ⛵
The Tall Ships' Races are an annual summer series held in European waters, where ports along the route will host sailing festivals. Between 1973 and 2003 the races were known as The Cutty Sark Tall Ships' Races after their sponsor, Cutty Sark whisky, a spirits company whose name referenced the famous namesake British sailing ship, the Cutty Sark. The Cutty Sark was built on the River Clyde, Glasgow, Scotland in 1869 for the Jock Willis Shipping Line, and is one of the last tea clippers to be built before the advent of steam propulsion.
The Tall Ships' Races are races for sail training "tall ships" (sailing ships). The races are designed to encourage international friendship and training for young people in the art of sailing. The races are held annually in European waters and consists of two racing legs of several hundred nautical miles, and a "cruise in company" between the legs. Over one half (fifty-percent) of the crew of each ship participating in the races must consist of young people.
A tall ship is a large, traditionally-rigged sailing vessel. Popular modern tall ship rigs include topsail schooners, brigantines, brigs and barques. Author and master mariner Joseph Conrad (who spent 1874 to 1894 at sea in tall ships and was quite particular about naval terminology) used the term "tall ship" in his works; for example, in The Mirror of the Sea in 1903, which suggests that the term was common parlance among his fellow mariners in the last quarter of the 19th century.
Traditional rigging may include square rigs and gaff rigs, usually with separate topmasts and topsails and is generally more complex than modern rigging, which utilizes newer materials such as aluminum and steel to construct taller, lightweight masts with fewer, more versatile sails.
For more on this year's races, click the photo by Valery Valselivskiy