The Tall Ships are Racing Back to Hartlepool

Hartlepool is once again hosting one of the must see, free maritime events this summer: The Tall Ships Races 2023.

Consisting of a fleet of over 30 ships, the race is the largest competition for sail training ships in the world and takes place from the 29th June to the 6th August, and can be seen in Hartlepool from the 6th – 9th July. The full journey will see tall ships, small ships and yachts explore the North Sea, sailing from Den Helder in the Netherlands, to Hartlepool, then back across the sea to Norwegian Fredrikstad, Lerwick and Arendal, over the course of just over 5 weeks. Last seen in Hartlepool in 2010, the North East port town plays host again to four days of celebrations, music, art, and dance, to honour the stay of the international fleet.

The journey and plan of events is made up of four stages:

Race 1: Den Helder – Hartlepool

Race 2: Hartlepool – Fredrikstad

Cruise in Company: Fredrikstad – Lerwick

Race 3: Lerwick to Arendal

With four of the five host Ports having already hosted the Tall Ships fleet, the ships are likely to receive a warm and enthusiastic welcome as they return for some fantastic sailing, stunning cruising and celebrations across Northwest Europe.

The races themselves offer a range of sailing experiences for crews and trainees. They also provide a variety of options for vessel operators and provide a strong base for trainee and crew recruitment.

The return to the region is a much welcomed boost to the North east regional economy and will no doubt bring visitors from far and wide over the four day event.

Blumilk has a wealth of experience in the UK regional travel and tourism sector in the North east and all across the UK.

Our first destination marketing project was for York Tourism many years ago, which was quickly followed with successful working relationships with Northumberland Tourism and Kielder Water and Forest Park who we worked with for many years. In 2009, our geographical reach and experience widened with the successful pitch win to work with Cumbria Tourism, creating their showcase holiday guide for visitors to the region for two successive years. With over 43 million visitors at the time, the guides were a key focal point for the tourist board and a vital selling tool for businesses large and small across the region.

This, together with the creation and production of other supporting collateral creation for them, opened the door for us to work with similar destination marketing organisations in other counties, such as Lake District National Park, Northumberland National Park and Northamptonshire Council producing their visitor and destination guides.

In 2015/2016 we were delighted to be commissioned to create the branding for The Sill – The UK’s National Landscape Discovery Centre. The Sill is a fantastic location to explore Northumberland’s National Park, explore the vast landscapes and connect with nature.

More recently in 2018, we were commissioned to re-brand the iconic Grade 1 listed Bamburgh Castle. This involved the creation of a new identity, printed collateral, campaign activity and a brand new website.

Soon after, our relationship with Alnwick Garden was established, and over recent years has developed into refreshing their brand and website, as well as showcasing our illustrative expertise and creative skills with the publication of two Christmas books about a Lost Snowman and a Reindeer that Couldn’t Fly.

Working with Alnwick Garden has very recently led to us becoming the Lead Creative Agency for the soon to be ‘Largest Play Structure in the World’, Lilidorei. Lilidorei is comparable in height to our most famous regional landmark the Angel of the North and we are excited for its launch in spring 2023. Find out more at lilidoreialnwick.co.uk

In celebration of the return of the ships to Hartlepool as one of the selected host venues, we have showcased our illustrative abilities once again with the creation of a series of bespoke contemporary illustrations, showcasing a nautical theme. Combining the concept of vintage travel poster styling with a fresh celebratory twist. We look forward to visiting the ships when they arrive in the North East!

You can find out more about the upcoming event at www.tallshipshartlepool2023.co.uk and check out a sneak a preview of the visiting ships.