In the second of our series profiling some of the magnificent vessels confirmed as taking part in August’s Falmouth Tall Ships Regatta, we focus our attention on the Stavros S Niarchos.

A British brig-rigged tall ship, the Stavros S Niarchos is owned and operated by the Tall Ships Youth Trust, formerly the Sail Training Association, and |undertook her maiden voyage in February 2000.

It was in the late 1990s that the STA’s two schooners, Malcolm Miller and Sir Winston Churchill, began to show the ravages of age and became increasingly expensive to maintain.

It was decided to sell them and replace them with the Stavros S Niarchos and her sister ship, Prince William.

The hulls for these two new brigs were obtained half completed from Germany and transported to Appledore Ship Yard in Devon where they were adapted to the YSYT’s |requirements and fitted out.

After undergoing sea trials, the ship was handed over to the STA at Avonmouth Docks from where she left on her maiden voyage, heading for Weymouth. The trip was used as a training voyage for her permanent and volunteer crew.

A two-masted vessel with 18 square sails, Stavros S Niarchos, was the first new tall ship built in Britain in 12 years and at 59 metres is the maximum size for a brig. Her rigging is made up of almost nine miles of wire and rope.

Other interesting facts are that she carries enough fuel to drive a small car around the world ten times and has 50 times more computer power than the Apollo 10 space craft. She is also air |conditioned and heated for worldwide operations and has her own water making plant.

The ship is normally sailed with a crew up of to 67 people, made up of a permanent, salaried crew of six, 11 to 13 volunteer crew and up to 48 voyage crew. There are still opportunities to book a place on the Stavros S Niarchos when she comes to Falmouth in August.

For more details visit www.tallships.org.