Pascual Flores, Torrevieja and Belfast's Tall Ships

For four-days, the ‘Troubles’ in Northern Ireland were all but forgotten as one of the biggest and most spectacular events that the country has ever witnessed took place, the final if the Tall Ships. After 18-years in waiting and seven years in the planning, Belfast, Northern Ireland, once again became a home port for the final stage of the Tall Ships Race and with it, put the country back on the International scene once again.

Forty Tall Ships, of all shapes and sizes, two Navy Vessels, a cruise ship, stunt planes, an international market, fun fairs plus days and nights of entertainment for all the family attracted almost half a million people, a third of the population of Northern Ireland to come and experience it for themselves. It was a memorable experience for one and all.

But what’s the connection between Torrevieja and Belfast, you may be thinking? It’s nothing more than what shall become one of Torrevieja’s newest attractions, the Pascual Flores. At 34-meters in length, 8-meters wide, a depth of 3-meters and a total area of 415-square meters, the Pascual Flores may not be once of the biggest Tall Ships but she boasts an impressive history and has the required credentials to take part in future events, which are organised every eight to ten years. However, the global success of this year’s event already has the organisers looking to run it on a more regular basis, with Belfast already having applied to be one of the hosts for the next event.

The event is organised by Sail Training International, and this year started in May from the Spanish port of Vigo, finishing 7,000 nautical miles later in Belfast, having visited Tenerife, Bermuda, Charleston, Boston and Halifax. There are smaller events held each year which hopefully the Pascual Flores shall become involved with.

As Torrevieja’s unofficial Tall Ships’ ambassador, yours truly, EWN journalist and photographer Keith Nicol, both worked side by side with the BBC TV crew as the ships sailed away from Belfast and I was interviewed by BBC Radio Ulster about the Pascual Flories and her illustrious history as one of the star attractions on the BBC’s Onedin Line. The series ran for 91-episods from October 1971 to October 1980 and some of the other ships also featured in the series where on display in Belfast.

The doom slayers may wonder why the City bought the ship back in 1999! The Pascual Flores was built on the beaches of Torrevieja, in front of the Casino, back in 1917, so she is steeped in local history. She shall be spending part of her life as a museum ship in Torrevieja, part as a training ship for navel cadets with a third duty as a mobile promotional vessel for the City. If Torrevieja was to attract such an event to the city, such as the starting location for the event, one should note that over the course of four days, forty Tall ships attracted over 400,000 visitors, generating over €25,000,000 in revenue, put Belfast back onto the International Cultural and Maritime scene, gave the entire area a huge Tourism boost and captured the imagination of the nation. Remember the name; Pascual Flores.

Keith Nicol

Stricter non-smoking laws to be enforced in Spain.

One thing that many expats and Spanish adults have in common is their love for a cigarette with their cup of coffee or tipple of choice. But all that could be changing in early 2010 Health Minister Trinidad Jiménez said in an interview with Cadena Ser as the government is “assessing the law” which is laced with loopholes and a “certain lack of definition”

Back in January 2006 Spain joined the European non-smoking community by banning smoking in public places, offices, restaurants and pubs. Possibly the pub aspect may have escaped the notice of most as each pub and restaurant smaller than 100 square metres was allowed to choose whether to allow smoking or not. Not surprisingly, very few establishments decided to change their habits of a lifetime and so continued to allow smoking as if nothing had changed in the land of law making. Latest figures suggest that over 55,000 people die from smoking-related diseases in Spain every year and that the non-smoking laws have had very little impact on reducing this number.

However, according to the Spanish Press, Spain’s Health Minister now wants to include all pubs and restaurants in a blanket ban and 70% of the Spanish population are in favour of a total ban on smoking. El Mundo say that only 40,000 of more than 350,000 establishments are presently smoke-free.

Greece and Turkey recently joined the ranks of European nations that have introduced such a ban and if implemented the effects shall be felt deeper away from the Costa Blanca, Calida, del Sol areas. For those that still smoke, our mild weather allows for terrace smoking and drinking year round, while the colder, wetter winters suffered by Madrid, Barcelona and to the north will mean that the effects of such a ban will hit smokers there more than here on the Costas.

Keith Nicol

Afernando Alonso to race in Valencian Grand Prix

The last-minute rush to buy tickets for next weekend’s European Grand Prix in Valencia is on as Fernando Alonso and the Renault F1 Team will now be racing as their disqualification was overturned and they have instead been fined $50,000 by the FIA. Pressure had been put on FIA by both Renault and European Grand Prix organisers Valmor Sports who had complained that disqualifying two-time World Champion Fernando Alonso was “unfair on his fans” and stressed that the majority of Spanish people who have already bought tickets for the Formula 1 Grand Prix had only done so to see Alonso in action on home turf!

Ticket sales received a boost following the announcement that Michael Schumacher was coming out of retirement to race for Ferrari but stalled after he withdrew due to not having recovered from neck injuries suffered in a motorcycle crash earlier in the year. However, those thinking of going should note that the majority of the less expensive tickets have been sold with the least expensive admission to be had for around €500 with the average price double that!

Last year, many visitors complained of a lack of parking and transportation to the circuit, poor lines of sight, Big Screen Televisions that could hardly be described as ‘big’, beer selling at €9.00, unsanitary bathroom facilities and huge prices being asked for hotel rooms and apartments! On the plus side, many lessons were learnt from last year and so things should be smoother next weekend. My advice, go for the practice and qualifying sessions and enjoy Sunday’s race on your own big screen TV. The advantage for those of us on the Costa Blanca is that we can at least drive there and back on the day and if you’ve never experienced the noise of a F1 race, it’s a perfect opportunity to do so.

Keith Nicol