Home of the tall ship Morning Star of Revelation and the training yacht Dayspring
Bookmark this page now (add to favourites) and check back here regularly to follow the progress of Morning Star. For more general information on the Tall Ships Race, including results and mapping, see the official website.
Photo gallery online at the official website with photos of the fleet and events in each of the ports visited.
Read last year's race log.
Welcome home Morning Star! The crew had an excellent sail last night. They are currently anchored in Stangate Creek, just a few miles along the river Medway from our base at the Historic Dockyard. They are due to arrive at Thunderbolt Pier at 13:00 and the crew will leave the boat at 15:00.
Morning Star is in Middleburg having left Veere. They plan to set off at 09:30 heading down the canal before venturing out to sea for their crossing home.
Morning Star anchored in the Veersemere last night and the crew woke up to find sunshine this morning but no wind. They are now in the town of Veere for the evening but a message just received from the skipper says that Morning Star has been blocked in her berth facing the wrong way. The sun continues to shine and there is still no wind. Morning Star has to leave at 06:00 tomorrow (Wednesday) to begin her journey across the North Sea if she is to be home by midday Thursday.
Morning Star is currently anchored off Willemstad and will head to Volkerak, between Antwerp and Rotterdam. They will be heading for places such as Zurikzee and Veere before going back to sea on Wednesday evening. Everyone on board well and happy.
Morning Star is currently in Hoorn en-route to Amsterdam later today. Our second mate Tristan will be celebrating his birthday tomorrow. Crew all well.
As predicted, Morning Star reached Texel at 01:00 this morning. The plan for today is to head for IJsselmeer followed by Amsterdam tomorrow. All but two of the crew have now found their sea legs. Otherwise all well.
Currently stonking along at 8 knots in NW force 6 wind. Some sea sickness but generally holding up well. Expect to reach Texel midnight tonight.
Morning Star set off from Esbjerg at 09:30 this morning bound for the island of Texel (the first of the Frisian Islands). Weather is currently grey with drizzle. Wind is in their favour and is forecast to be NNW 5-6, so they should make good progress.
All crew have been located and gathered at the airport, moving to departure lounge now for flight to Esbjerg. All well.
Morning Star has arrived safely in Esjberg 15:00 Sunday. A very slow 12 hours sailing at an average speed of 2 knots, followed by a sudden increase in wind speed to 30 knots (Force 7). Crew went out for meal ashore to celebrate their achievements. Taxis ordered for trip to airport on Monday.
The crew have enjoyed all the Tall Ships festivities during their brief stay in Fredrikstad. They left at 08:30 today in a force 4, south-westerly wind. Gales are forecast for Sunday so they hope to arrive in Esbjerg, Denmark, well before they do. Seems that Tim Smith (first mate) has been putting his pizza-making skills into practice.
Morning Star arrived safely in Fredrikstad at 21:30. Crew are enjoying a well deserved break, showers high on the priority list. Have made contact with Heather Murry and she will be joining us tomorrow (Thurs) for the final leg to Esbjerg. The Tall Ships crew parade and crew party also take place tomorrow.
Morning Star's crew are in good spirits but looking forward to dry land and showers. Yesterday they were blessed with a display from a school of dolphins. Today, Fraser has turned baker and is making fresh bread for everyone.
Morning Star appears to have made up some time since the last message. Steve has now committed to get to Fredrikstad and pick up an extra crew member (Heather) who will stay with us for Homeward Bound thus completing the crew. Present ETA Fredrikstad around midnight on Wednesday. Will then leave for Esbjerg on Friday morning. Upon arrival they expect to moor in the fishing basin dock.
Morning Star is now approximately half way to her destination of Fredrikstad. All is now dependent on a good wind to get them there as they are under time pressure. Current forecasts show very changeable wind directions and this could make maintaining her course difficult. The crew are reported to be doing well and are marvelling at the size of some oil rigs in their local vicinity.
Morning Star left the Tyne river again at 1500 Sunday. They are currently doing a respectable 7 knots on a direct course to Fredrikstad, Norway. They have some 380 open sea miles ahead of them and expect to arrive some time on Thursday afternoon. There is still a big swell after the recent heavy weather but the crew are fairing well with minimal seasickness this time.
Morning Star made a blistering start on Tall Ships race 2 crossing the start line yesterday first place in class. However, twelve hours (50 miles north) into the race they were experiencing winds of 35 knots (a force 8 gale) and very big seas. For a crew having just joined the boat and not had time to find their sea legs this proved too much. As a result the majority were laid low with seasickness. In the interests of crew safety Steve (the skipper) decided that as they were so short handed they should turn round and head back to enable the crew to recover. Sadly, that spelt the end of the race for Morning Star but it was the right decision in the circumstances. We were not alone in our decision as a number of other vessels were also forced to make the same decision. Morning Star made it safely back to the Tyne river where they have now rested and fully recovered. The crew are understandably disappointed at first but are now please to have been able to recover. The plan is to head out once again in fairer conditions around Saturday lunch time. We wish them well.
Newcastle/Gateshead has proved to be a fantastic venue for the Tall Ships event with fantastic views of the fleet from the high ground all around the river. Tens of thousands of people turned out every day to walk along the endless quay with beautiful and impressive ships stretching as far as you could see.
The crew for Tall Ships 'C' have all arrived safely aboard in Gateshead. They enjoyed the tail end of the port celebrations and a spectacular firework display last night before getting their heads down for a prompt start the next morning.
Morning Star left for the parade of sail at 08:30 this morning joining the fleet to head down the Tyne and out to sea. The crew will be put through their paces this morning in order to prepare for the race that is due to start at 16:30 this afternoon. There's nothing like being thrown in at the deep end! We wish them Bon Voyage!
Morning Star sailed through the night last night in light north-easterly winds with a comfortable sea. She is now making her way up the river Tyne to Newcastle/Gateshead where the fleet will complete the cruise in company. We expect to be alongside between 11:00 and 11:30 this morning. The crew are all well and enjoying a well earned sense of achievement. (BBC Tyne webcam)
Progress north is slow due to the NW wind. Sailed through the night last night, conditions quite rough. Current position just north of the Wash and 90miles to go to Whitby. Estimated time of arrival expected to be lunch time tomorrow (Saturday). Plan to spend Saturday night in Whitby before undertaking a night sail to Newcastle. Estimated time of arrival Monday morning. Crew all ok.
Morning Star left the Deben river lunchtime today bound for Lowestoft. Wind conditions are better that expected, currently doing 7 knots. If they can keep this up they will carry on to Whitby, aiming to get there for Saturday morning. All well.
The latest update on the crew member with tooth ache is that Heather (2nd Mate) has taken him into Ipswich for treatment. They will be picked up again at Waldringfield on the River Deben. Morning Star is now on route for the River Deben accompanied by Anna Marguerita (Dutch), Feelings (Finnish) and Andromeda (Danish), a very multi-national group!
Morning Star is currently anchored at Pin Mill with 3 other tall ships. They had a good sail there with only a little motoring needed this time. One of the crew (Jamie) is being troubled by a tooth ache he has had since before the voyage. We are monitoring this but he may need to see a dentist.
Morning Star is now back in UK territorial waters. She spent the day in Eastbourne on Monday and set off again last night heading up the East Coast. As part of the Cruise in Company arrangements, and knowing the area as we do, Morning Star has been chosen to lead a small flotilla of fellow competitors to the River Deben today. There they are planning to anchor and enjoy a BBQ together.
(Morning Star's result from Race 1 has been honoured on the ASTO website. -ed)
Morning Star is now on course for Ramsgate. Motoring again due to lack of wind. The owner of the boat, Tim Millward, came aboard today for a cup of tea before the very busy Parade of Sail. We left amid a myriad of spectator boats wishing us well and waving goodbye. (Download Cruise in Company brochure from ASTO - 3.1MB PDF)
All Tall Ships 'B' crew arrived safely. Morning Star plans to leave Cherbourg at 17:00 on Sunday bound for the Orwell via Ramsgate in order to pick up diesel fuel. Estimated time of arrival in the River Orwell is Tuesday evening. We will then head for the River Deben for Wednesday morning.
Morning Star is now alongside in Cherbourg after 12hrs in dense fog. You don't need to be a sailor to know how challenging this must be for the skipper. Thanks to Mike and Steve's experience, as well as the all-important radar, we made it in safely. Skipper's nerves now recovering well. The crew are all in good spirits, despite of the lack of sailing, and are already getting into the spirit of the Tall Ships port celebrations. Hope the fog clears before the firework display!!
Morning Star rounded waypoint 2 at midnight last night. The race has now been shortened to finish at 04:30UTC. They plan to visit the island of Alderney tomorrow, stay overnight there before heading for Cherbourg Thursday midday. Crew generally happy but looking forward to having a well earned run ashore.
We are currently waiting for an update from Morning Star. At 15:00 on Monday 11th July she was South West of Lands End, 4th in class and 12th overall (64 vessels currently racing).
Morning Star is now racing. We managed to cross the start line 3rd in class. Currently under full sail including mizzen staysail. On course to next waypoint.
Race start cancelled after several postponements due to lack of wind. Due to restart at 11:00. Weather sunny in middle of Irish Sea. Wind arrived in night. Currently 'hove to' (stopped) 5 miles upwind of Waypoint 1 enjoying a breakfast of excellent porridge cooked by Simon, despite boat rocking and fellow cook succumbing to seasickness.Have been visited by dolphins twice. Crew getting their sea legs now and catching up on sleep after a hectic time in Waterford.
All crew in good spirits. Very noisy crew parade yesterday manned by Morning Star crew dressed as pirates. 2nd Mate Tristan almost lost his voice! A training session for the crew will take place alongside the pontoon this afternoon as they prepare for tomorrow's departure.
The crew joining Morning Star of Revelation for Tall Ships race 1 have all now arrived safely in Waterford, Ireland. They will now spend a couple of days settling and enjoying the carnival atmosphere in Waterford before embarking on the race to Cherbourg, France, commencing with a parade of sail on Saturday 9th July.
