Module 6
Lessons 4 and 5
Student’s Book pages 65–67
Skills focus
Over the ocean
Reading
Before reading
While reading
THE EXPERIENCE OF A LIFETIME
THE TALL SHIPS ATLANTIC CHALLENGE
IS ONE OF THE BIGGEST EVENTS OF THE YEAR
FOR SAILING ENTHUSIASTS
The race started in 1953, when 20 ships sailed from southern England to Portugal. Since then, it has become bigger and bigger and is now one of the most popular events in the sailing calendar.
The ships in the 2009 Atlantic Challenge were traditional vessels with sails and rigging. They came from Europe, North America and even Uruguay in South America. Their 130,000-km trip took five months to complete, and involved over a thousand crew members and visits to seven ports and five countries.
Most of the people on the ship were teenagers on sail-training programmes led by experienced sailors. They had an amazing trip that took them from Spain to the Canary Islands, and then across the Atlantic to Bermuda. After the ships reached the USA, they raced on to Nova Scotia. The final part of the race, which was over 43,500 km, took a month.
During the race, the crew reported its progress to the organisers. They did this twice a day, at 6 a.m. and 4 p.m. UK time. The ships’ positions were then plotted on a map, so that families and friends could follow their progress. At each port on the route, there were spectacular celebrations when the ships arrived.
Patrick Kelly, a teenager on one of the first ships to arrive, said: ‘I wanted to go on a new and exciting adventure. This really has been the experience of a lifetime! Since I’ve been on this ship, I’ve made lots of new friends and I’ve discovered a lot about the countries on our route and about myself, too. This has been the longest that I’ve ever been away from home, so the best part for me was just now, when we sailed back into Belfast!’
The text talks about:
-The biggest events of the year for sailing enthusiasts.
-The kinds of ships that took part in the Atlantic Challenge.
-The crew members on the ships.
-The locations that the ships passed by.
-The reason that organisers plotted the ships’ positions twice a day.
After reading
-How long is the final part of the race?
It is over 43,500 km.