Applications for places on board vessels taking part in next year's Tall Ships Race have been coming in a "steady stream'', according to its local organisers.

And after playing host to a delegation from the International Sail Training Association last weekend, Tall Ships 2000-Bermuda has confirmed that preparations for the event are going well.

Organised by I.S.T.A, based in the UK, the Tall Ships Race will celebrate the Millennium by sending a fleet of around 70 to 80 ships, ranging in size from 30 to 370-feet, on an epic journey visiting ports on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, including Amsterdam in the Netherlands, Halifax, Nova Scotia and Charleston, South Carolina.

Tall Ships 2000-Bermuda will be handling two legs of the year-long race, between Cadiz and Bermuda and between Bermuda and Charleston, including a three-day stay on the Island between June 9 and 12.

During this stopover, as in every port, there will be a number of events, ceremonies and activities for both the sailors and the general public.

Events co-ordinator Carol Wills explained that, so far, this massive task of organisation had gone smoothly.

She also said many of the places on board the ships had already been filled by a number of young people.

"Recruitment has gone wonderfully,'' Mrs. Wills said. "We've had almost 140 applications from Bermudians between the ages of 15 and 25.

"We're extremely excited about, not only the fact that there are so many, but also that they come from all age groups and from every section of the community.'' I.S.T.A. rules state that at least half of the berths on board each vessel must be filled by people of the younger generation.

Mrs. Wills said distribution between the various sections of the race had been pretty even.

"You'd expect there to be one leg of the race that was more popular than the other,'' she said. "The youngsters' choices so far show this not to be the case, as we've had about the same amount of entries all six legs.'' The event co-ordinator admitted that, although she enjoyed her job and had learned a lot since starting, "it is a huge task to organise this event, involving a lot of manpower and time''.

She explained that there are a total of 13 different committees working on preparations in various areas. They include about 100 volunteers and countless government personnel.

Government appears to be playing a large part in helping make the Tall Ships Race a successful reality for Bermuda. They are working with Tall Ships 2000-Bermuda in areas as diverse as finance, merchandising, public relations, media co-ordination, security and sanitation.

Mrs. Wills underlined the positive impact that an event of its size could have for the Island in terms of publicity and tourism.

She continued: "It's a tremendous honour that Bermuda has been chosen as one of the ports for the race.'' The international competition to be selected apparently rivals that of the Olympic Games, with countries from all over the world having to present their cases at an annual conference hosted by I.S.T.A.

Bermuda will take advantage of the publicity when a troupe of Gombeys travels over to Spain to perform for international audiences at the beginning of the race's second leg in Cadiz next May.

The trip will be financed by the Ministry of Community and Cultural Affairs.

Mrs. Wills said it was expected the event would cost about $2 million, but they were aiming to raise about $1.5 million.

"The balance of this will be made up in goods and manpower costs supplied by the Government,'' she said.

Sail away: The talls hip HMS Rose, a possible entrant for the Tall Ships 2000-Bermuda race.