The Cutty Sark Tall Ships' Races have been organised since 1956. Because of fear of the sailing ship era coming to an end a farewell sailing race was organised from Lisbon to Torbay in England. Since then every year a race has been organised somewhere in the world and about every four years in the Baltic region.
Previous host ports in Finland for the Cutty Sark Tall Ships' Races have been Helsinki,
Kotka, Mariehamn and Turku.
In 1996 the event was held in Turku and it became the biggest public event of that summer
with about 400 000 visitors.
The main organiser of the race is the international association Sail Training International.
Despite its name, the main focus of the Cutty Sark Tall Ships' Races is not on racing but youth activity. For the thousands of young people serving as crews on board the ships, the event provides an opportunity to make new contacts regardless of nationality or education. Sailing together builds up solidarity and cooperation across the borders.
Dates for year 2003
The port of departure is Gdynia, from where the ships race to Turku. From Turku they continue as cruise-in-company to Riga. This means that the ships have free choice of route. The ships can also exchange crews, i.e. a Russian ship can have a mixed crew from a Swedish, Danish, Finnish or other ship.
The second race is from Riga to Lübeck/Travemünde. Dates: | 
