The
American Sail Training Assocation Tall Ships Challenge
begin in 2001 with 30 vessels from six countries visiting
seven cities on the Great Lakes. Ports included Detroit,
Michigan; Windsor, Ontario; Kingston, Ontario; Port
Colborne, Ontario; Cleveland, Ohio; Bay City, Michigan;
and Muskegon, Michigan. During the Detroit and Windsor
stops, the neighboring cities celebrated their 300th
Anniversary.
For
2002, ASTA moved the Tall Ships Challenge to the Pacific
Coast. In only its second year, the Challenge saw the
number of sail boats and tall ships doubled, for a
total of sixty vessels. Stops included Richmond, British
Columbia; Seattle, Washington; San Francisco, California;
and Los Angeles, California. The tall ships raced from
the Strait of Juan de Fuca to San Francisco and on
to the finish in Los Angeles.
2003
saw the Tall Ships Challenge return to the Great Lakes.
This time around, celebration centered on the Ohio
Bicentennial, with stops in Cleveland and Toledo ports.
Muskegon and Bay City, Michigan were visited (as in
2001) and new locations included Sarnia, Ontario and
Chicago, Illinois.
Tall
Ships Challenge 2004 increased the race distance to
over 2,300 nautical miles along the Atlantic Coast.
Sailboats and tall ships from ten countries raced between
ports from Florida to Nova Scotia.
ASTA
switched coasts back to the Pacific for the 2005 Tall
Ships Challenge. Seven ports were visited by the sixty
sail boats and tall ships, all traditionally rigged
and crewed by members from ages 13 to 25.
