The Tall Ships came and went...

What a weekend!
Saturday to Tuesday.
Four days when Hartlepool revealed its beautiful face to the world.
The Tall Ships began slipping into the town as early as Thursday. A Spanish yacht called Hansa from Galicia, with whose crew I shared a few tapas and a beer.
The larger ones arrived between Thursday evening and Saturday lunchtime.

A huge tide of visitors descended on the Marina at around 11am on Saturday and kept on rolling past the berthed ships. The weather was clement to the point of being warm.
Sunday, Monday and Tuesday brought even more visitors laden with cameras and zoom lenses.
All our staff worked very hard and long hours over the four days to cater for twice or three times our usual number of diners.

I enjoyed selling coffee, tea and Sangria outside Casa del Mar. It gave me the opportunity to do some "market research" by asking people where they came from, whether they liked Hartlepool and if they would come back again.
They were unanimous in their praise for our town. Most had never been here and were totally delighted with the facilities and the organization. Those who were re-visiting were pleased with the changes that had occurred over the last twenty years.

The regional visitors promised to come back very soon.

I was so busy that I did not manage to get my camera out so here is a Flickr Group set up to showcase the weekend.

Last minute preparations...

Les, our son started his own cleaning company a couple of weeks ago and one of his first assignments was to clean outside Portofino in time for the Tall Ships. And a good job he did!

They are coming... Don't panic!

294, 497 visitors watched the Tall Ships leave Aalborg on their way to Kristiansand and then to Hartlepool.

Are we ready for the million or so visitors that are going to flock to Hartlepool for 4 days?

Our three restaurants will open all day from Saturday till Tuesday doing their best to cope with the onslaught.

We really do not know exactly what is going to hit us. We have ordered over three times the supplies we usually get through on a very busy Saturday but even then, we are not sure whehter that will be enough to feed and water the multitude of visitors eager to watch the beautiful tall ships.

The one thing I am really sure about is that Hartlepool will be THE place to be from 7th August.

Those who have been to our town in the past and thought it was a dump will be absolutely bowled over by its transformation. The new visitors will fall in love.

I just hope I will have time to take a few pictures of the Tall Ships...

The Tall Ships are coming...

The Tall Ships website is the place to look for anything you need to know about Hartlepool's biggest event in 2010!

Just over 25 weeks to go the 7th August 2010 when at least 75 ships will be arriving to Hartlepool from Kristiansand (Norway) on the last leg of the Tall Ships Race.

There will be a massive array of events between 7th and 10th when many of the ships will depart for Amsterdam on a North Sea Regatta.

Once people have visited Hartlepool during these few days, they will fall in love with the amazing facelift the town has had over the last 20 years.

Kristmas is here...

Four weeks since my last blog.

Algeria has qualified for the World Cup in South Africa. I was looking to supporting two teams. My country of birth and my adopted country.

They were drawn in the same group and will be playing each other one Friday evening in June. Can't wait to find out which country my heart will support.

The festive season seems to get shorter every year. Twelve weeks in 1985. Four weeks last year. Three weeks this year. The credit crunch is still biting. New businesses are suffering a lot more than the established ones.

2010 is our 25th anniversary year. Looking forward to the nostalgic memories from many of our long-time regulars.

2010, the year of the Tall Ships in town. This may be the making of Hartlepool.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and yours!

Krimo's Yachting Pictures...

Or Krimo's Yacht in Pictures... Often in the past year, I have referred to HMS Tricomalee as My Yacht...
Krimo's Royal Yacht
Krimo Naval Gazing

Yesterday, as part of HMS Trincomalee Trust fundraising efforts to keep the ship afloat for generations to come, I launched a Flickr group, inviting photographers from all over the world to contribute with their photos of Hartlepool's Own Tall Ship.

The result has been staggering. In less than 12 hours, the group has acquired 20 members and nearly 100 photos featuring the Trinc.
Take a look


If you have or know of anyone who has photos of HMS Trincomalee, we would be delighted if you could post them at the above Flickr group.

The tall ships...

...are coming to Hartlepool!











This is an amazing event which will put Hartlepool on the World map!

When they last came to the North East, Hartlepool played host to a few tall ships on their way to Newcastle. Check out the tall ships on the Tyne!
One million visitors invaded the city in August 2005 to wave the ships goodbye before they sailed on to their final destination Fredrikstad in Norway.
In August 2010, Hartlepool WILL BE the final destination, so one cannot begin to imagine the number of visitors that will flock to the town.
This year's Maritime Festival in July will serve as a dry-run to that massive event.