Predicted to attract up to one-and-a-half million visitors this summer, it’s hoped the Tall Ships Race will help cement Sunderland’s resurgence. Sarah Millington meets project director Michelle Daurat

IT’S a sunny morning, and the view from the National Glass Centre’s café is magnificent. The light is reflected on the gently undulating River Wear and on Corporation Quay opposite, a crane serves as a reminder of Sunderland’s proud heritage as once the world’s most prodigious shipbuilding town.

This is where, on July 11, a fleet of vessels will dock, ready for the first leg of the Tall Ships Race. With their vertiginous masts and billowing sails, they’ll be reminiscent of the film Pirates of the Caribbean. It’s easy to imagine the spectacle.

“They’ll be berthed there, directly opposite the National Glass Centre, so this will be a prime spot,” says project director Michelle Daurat. “I can imagine this place will be chocker. We just need the weather!”

As the host port for the opening leg, Sunderland will put on four days of celebrations before the fleet sets off for Esbjerg, in Denmark. It’s a prestigious role, which the city had to bid for, and entails certain contractual obligations, including race particulars, laid out by organiser Sail Training International (STI). It’s also an opportunity to showcase its heritage and culture.

“It builds on our reputation of being an events city,” says Michelle. “We’ve run Sunderland Airshow for 30 years and Sunderland Illuminations is going from strength to strength. This is a Sunderland event so it will have a Sunderland flavour all the way through.

“We’re going to have four event zones which will be open from 10am till 10pm every day. We’ll have two stages with community groups, schools, brass bands and local bands performing and there’ll be lots of nice food and drink, trade exhibition stands and street theatre.

“The Port of Sunderland will be the home for the vast majority of the ships. It’s a commercial port not accessible to the public ordinarily, but it will open its doors for the four-day event. Sunderland is absolutely steeped in heritage and history and we want people to see that, so we’ll be running various heritage projects in the run-up to the event and during the event and bringing the heroes and villains to life.”

Among the festival highlights will be a city centre Crew Parade, on Thursday, July 12, involving up to 15,000 people; and a Parade of Sail – a lap of honour from Roker Pier along the coastline to Souter Lighthouse before the ships depart on Saturday, July 14. There’ll be fireworks every night and on the Friday evening, the riverside will host an as-yet undisclosed artistic commission.

If anyone can make the event a success, it’s Michelle, who was at the helm for Hartlepool’s turn at hosting in 2010. This time, it’s even more special, as it’s happening in her home city – though, as she says, she’ll never forget her inaugural race. “When I went to Hartlepool, I completely fell in love with the town and kind of adopted it because events of this nature are all about pride and showing off where you live on an international stage,” she says. “The fact that I’m from here makes it extra special.”

As project director, Michelle won’t have hands-on involvement with the ships or the race – rather, her role is one of oversight. “I’m very clear that this is a project with a beginning and an end, a finite timespan and a finite amount of money,” she says. “It’s about being organised and being able to juggle a lot of balls at the same time, and being able to push people along and having a good sense of humour as well.”

A key responsibility is finding crews for the ships. STI stipulates that all vessels must be at least half manned by 15 to 24-year-olds. In Sunderland, places have been funded by five area committees. “They wanted to support people who ordinarily wouldn’t be able to have that sort of experience, so they make up the vast majority of the 150 sail trainees,” says Michelle. “There will be a lot of young people who’ve never been abroad before.”

At a session in January, candidates were shown the types of ships available and asked to state a preference. As Michelle points out, experiences vary widely from the biggest Class A to the smallest Class D ships – yet there’s a common purpose.

“The Tall Ships Race is all about giving young people the opportunity to do sail training, but that isn’t the end point,” she says. “It’s about what you learn about yourself. It’s learning to be resilient, learning to be away from home, learning to be with people from other countries, learning to cook, learning that you’ve got to pull together as a team. It’s personal development – life skills. We, as a port, have tried to encourage as many people as possible from Sunderland to have that amazing, life-changing experience on a ship.”

The race itself is in four parts, ending in Harlingen, in The Netherlands, with a break from competition between Esbjerg and Stavanger, in Norway. The Sunderland crew will sail only as far as Esbjerg, where young people from that port will replace them. The presence in the fleet of a fully accessible ship, the Lord Nelson, means disabled people aren’t excluded. Michelle knows from her own daughter’s experience just how much there is to gain.

“My daughter Becca did it in 2010 when she was 16,” she says. “She had an amazing time – she met people from different countries and she’s still in touch with them on Facebook. It really was life-changing for her.”

As well as serving as crew, there are opportunities for local people to act as “event makers”. Michelle believes these volunteers will be the city’s best advocates. “We’re recruiting 250 volunteers to work with us on the Tall Ships Race and we’re hoping that they’ll stay with us,” she says. “They know their area, they’re dead proud and they’re dead enthusiastic. We’ve got our event makers, we’ve got our trainees and there’s the feelgood factor for local people.”

It’s hoped that the Tall Ships Race’s legacy will endure long after the vessels have set sail. Having recently missed out on the UK City of Culture title, Sunderland is determined to move forward, with projects like the new Northern Spire bridge and the Old Firestation music and arts hub. As far as Michelle is concerned, the future looks bright.

“We’ve got big plans for what we’re going to do in terms of culture over the next seven years,” she says. “Everything seems to be coming together at the moment for Sunderland. It’s our time. It’s looking back, but it’s really looking forward to what a fab city we are and how we can make it even better in the future.”

In the immediate aftermath of the race, however, Michelle will be doing as little as possible. “I’ll probably have a glass of wine and a lot of sleep,” she laughs.

tallshipssunderland.com