refined rules and safety regulations, and mandatory state-of-the-art safety equipment make the Tall Ships 2000 Race the safest to date.

Mandatory safety equipment on this year's Tall Ships' Race includes radios with a 5,000 mile range and the latest emergency position indicating beacon (EPIRB). Most of the fleet will also have the INMARSAT satellite communications system.

International Sail Training Association (ISTA) Race Director Peter Newell talked to Celia Palmer Curtis from his ISTA office in Portsmouth about the differences between the sail training races in 1984 and 2000.

"First of all, let me stress that we take very seriously the safety and well being of the ships in our fleet and the youngsters that make up the crews,'' Mr. Newell said. "It is our priority not to put our young people in a position of risk.'' Mr. Newell said a complete review was done after the Marques tragedy and subsequent races such as the Fastnet Race in 1979 and a further review after the 1998 Sydney Hobart race.

"Whenever ships taking part in a race are adversely affected by weather, or any other unforeseen aspect, the safety requirements and rules are reviewed, he said.

"ISTA paid particular attention to the executive summary report written after the 1998 Sydney Hobart Race and as a result of that instituted a number of changes to our existing safety regulations for this race.

"In general, rules and regulations have been tightened as a result of the 1984 race and subsequent races, there have been 16 years of dramatic improvements in communications and weather forecasting.'' Question: What is the difference between 1984 and 2000 in general with regard to weather forecasting? Could you elaborate on ISTA's weather forecasting system, what agencies and devices are used, and specifically are there ISTA instructions to the guard ship or communications ship, if there is one, for broadcasting weather reports to all ships every four hours as recommended in the inquiry? Answer: "The reliability of weather forecasting has moved on in leaps and bounds since 1984. The general science has improve dramatically. However weather is still unpredictable, and the best forecasters in the world occasionally get caught out.

"The individual ships' ability to acquire weather information has moved on as well. As part of the sailing instructions for the this race, we have provided telephone and fax numbers and e-mail addresses to the fleet so that individual ships can collect weather information during the race.

"ISTA requires all ships to be equipped with MF/HF radio which has a range of up to 5,000 miles. A significant proportion of the tall ships have the INMARSAT satellite communications system that can download weather information. In 1984 only one or two state-run ships had this facility. In those days the INMARSAT system was large and cumbersome and only large commercial and naval ships had it. Nowadays the INMARSAT C system is about the size of two paperback books. Out of the 35 tall ships racing to Bermuda, about 25 of them are equipped with INMARSAT C.

"An ISTA Communications Officer is travelling with the fleet on the Polish ship Dar Mlodziezy which is the communications ship.

"The Communications Officer conducts daily schedules with the ships and sends their positions back to the Race Office,'' Mr. Newell said. "Part of his duties is to pass on information to the fleet about adverse weather warnings. This year, as in the recent past, ISTA has nominated two additional vessels, which are well equipped with communications equipment, to act as radio relay in the fleet and back to ISTA if necessary.'' Latest equipment "Although an EPIRB system did exist in 1984 it was very much a hit or miss system,'' Mr. Newell said. "For Tall Ships 2000 we require all ships racing to be equipped with the latest 406 megaherz version. The new EPERB system activates automatically and reports which individual ship is actually sending the signal and its position, which is enormously important. This system did not exist in 1984.

Question: What documentation does ISTA require for a ship to enter one of their races? Answer: "ISTA requires details of the measurements of the vessel and the completion of a vessel safety form. We also require signed agreement to comply with the racing and sailing rules of the ISTA and that our safety equipment standards are met. Our rules based on the MCA code of practice in the UK, together with those laid down by RORC.

"The IMO is the body which sits permanently and reviews, amongst other things, safety regulations for all shipping. They advise national maritime agencies who in turn lay down the safety requirements for all their national vessels. It is only comparatively recently that safety rules have been extended to include smaller pleasure craft such as sail training ships.

"ISTA for its part has insisted on levels of safety from the outset since our first race since 1956. We constantly review our safety requirements which of course have been much refined since those first races.

Question: On the Marques issue of its Certificate of Exemption -- how do they work and how can ISTA be sure the information is correct? Answer: "The master of each participating vessels must sign a declaration which is part of the ISTA entry form on which he declares that he is duly qualified and holds all the necessary certification to command a sail training vessel and that the ship is legally licensed and adequately insured to sail with trainees. However we don't demand to inspect the certification of the master or vessel because they are often in a foreign language.

"Both the owner and captain of the ship have to sign the Entry Form accepting a number of responsibilities, not least that they and no-one else are responsible for the seaworthiness of their vessel and that they undertake to participate in the race at their discretion.

"In the Marques inquiry the responsibility for the validity of the master's license was put on the owners, and it was suggested that owners hiring new masters for their sail training ships who were unknown to them should check with the authority issuing their licence to be sure of its validity.'' Inspection "Members of the ISTA Race Team visit the ships whilst they are getting ready to take part in the race.

Tall Ships 2000 the safest ever "They conduct inspections of the ships' safety equipment against the Safety Equipment Form each captain has to complete and sign.

"The majority of Class A ships are state run. When the master of a state-run vessel signs a statement to the effect that he has complied with the safety requirements, we take his word for it. We are much more concerned with inspecting smaller ships.

"We do not go to Class A ships run by, for instance, the US Coast Guard or the Spanish or Danish Navy to check their bilges. It is reasonable to assume these ships comply with their national regulations and that their documentation is correct. Nonetheless, we do carry out random visits to these ships to ensure that the rules that ISTA have laid down are also being complied with.

Question: Are any of the tall ships racing in Tall Ships 2000 very old and are any special inspections required for old boats such as inspection of the mast step for rot? Answer: "Yes, there are some old ships amongst the fleet. We do not have any specific inspection requirements for soundness of the vessel itself but clearly, as part of his duties, a vessel inspector will use his judgment as to the overall seaworthiness of a ship. Unless our inspectors see actual holes!! The captain retains the ultimate responsibility for the seaworthiness of his ship.'' Question: On the Marques issue of stability, in layman's terms, what changes, if any, have been made? Answer: "Stability figures are required as part of the certification of a ship, though this is not my area of expertise. Stability is determined by a series of theoretical and practical weight balance tests. Suffice it to say ISTA does not separately check the stability rating of a vessel but accepts that, if a vessel is certified, then it will have been stability rated.''