About the Society

The Victoria Tall Ships Society is a non-profit organization established in May 2003 for the purpose of hosting the American Sail Training Association (ASTA) Tall Ships Challenge Race during its 2005 visit of west coast ports of North America. The Society, after hosting the tall ships again in 2008, is now busy planning for the return of the Tall Ships in the near future. 

As part of its mandate, the Society wishes to make Victoria a permanent host port for Tall Ships during each of their tri-annual visits to the region.  It seeks also to enhance the awareness of the rich maritime history of this city and the strong links which British Columbia has with the sea.  A key constitutional objective of the society is to provide youth with life affirming experiences while sailing in traditionally rigged vessels.

To manage its day-to-day affairs and to achieve its goals, the Victoria Tall Ships Society relies almost entirely on volunteers. The current board of directors brings an accumulated 325 years of maritime experience and over 100 years of event organizing, marketing, and fund-raising experience to their responsibilities. The 18 men and women of the working board of directors come from marine, political, business, communications, and military backgrounds.

Board of Directors

For photos and bios, click here.