Ship Vespucci moored in Lisbon on 22 July where she joined some of the finest sailing ships in the world for the Tall Ship Races 2016, the historic international regatta that annually sees the "giants of the sea" compete. In 1956, the first edition of the competition was held in the Portuguese capital, which today hosts the event again in the renovated Cruise Terminal citizen.
The sailing of the ship to Portugal, where 7 students of the first class of the Academy have embarked since 101 July, was characterized by the passage of the Strait of Gibraltar, a memorable event in the life of every sailor and future naval officers.
The crossing of the Columns of Hercules, symbol of the limit of the world once known, was celebrated with the ceremony of Baptism of the Sea and the delivery to the students by the ship's commander of a parchment in memory of the event. From that moment the students of the Naval Academy have left the quieter Mediterranean Sea to face the ocean and then, after a short river navigation along the Rio Tejo, arrive in the Portuguese capital.
The importance of the arrival of the most beautiful sailing ship in the world was underlined by the ambassador of Italy to Portugal, Giuseppe Morabito, who, addressing the crew, underlined the importance of the work of the Navy and reiterated as the presence of the Vespucci and, in general, the organization of an international event, such as the Tall Ship Races 2016, represent a sign of Portugal's economic recovery.
The goal of the Tall Ships Races has always been to keep the tradition of sailing alive especially among the new generations; aim that fits perfectly with the Navy's will to reconcile, through the education campaign of the first year students on the Vespucci, tradition and innovation in the training of future Navy officers.
Many events that involved the crews of over fifty ships present - in addition to Vespucci, the Mexican stand out Cuauhtemo, the Norwegians Adobe e radich, the Russian Mir, the German Von Humboldt, the French Belem, the Polish Chopin - from musical evenings to more formal appointments, such as the crew parade and the awards ceremony, all in the name of a passion for sails and the sea, a natural element that has always been able to bring together sailors from all over the world.
Not only Tall Ship, in fact, in Lisbon, in the name of collaboration between the ship and the WWF, a meeting was held on board the Vespucci to raise public awareness of the importance of the fish resources that populate the world's seas.
After Antwerp and Lisbon, the Tall Ships Races will stop in the cities of Cadiz and La Coruňa.
Ship Vespucci, after the traditional parade along the waters of the Tejo river, will participate in the regatta with the class "A", the one that unites the largest ships, up to the Andalusian city of Cadiz where it is expected to arrive on July 28th.
