Darwin200 global voyage concludes in Falmouth after two years

A global voyage inspired by Charles Darwin’s journey aboard HMS Beagle has finished in Cornwall.

Dutch tall ship, Oosterschelde, sailed into Falmouth Harbour on Saturday, marking the end of the Darwin200 voyage, which began in Plymouth in 2023.

The ship was welcomed into Port Pendennis Marina after clocking up 43,000 nautical miles, 31 ports of call and two years at sea.

Organisers said the choice of Falmouth as the homecoming port was “deeply significant” due to Darwin’s own arrival there in 1836.

Darwin’s original trip on board the Beagle inspired him to develop his theory of natural selection.

Stewart McPherson, who founded the Darwin200 project, said the mission had three purposes.

Speaking before the Oosterschelde’s departure in 2023 he said he wanted to train young conservationists “to change the world”, create the “world’s most exciting classroom” and undertake research projects to study nature and conservation around the planet.

After arriving in Falmouth, Mr McPherson said Darwin200 had “shown what’s possible when young people are given the opportunity to learn, to lead and to act”.

“Conservation isn’t about what we’ve lost, it’s about protecting what we still have. That’s what this voyage has been about from the very beginning.”

More than 600 members of the public sailed the tall ship between ports and about 105 Darwin leaders – young people from 45 countries – were trained aboard and in the field, organisers said.

Gerben Nab, captain of the Oosterschelde, said: “This was more than a sailing voyage, it was a bridge between generations, between science and the sea.

“We’ve sailed through some of the world’s most challenging waters and to some of its most breathtaking places, where nature remains much as Darwin would have seen it on his own voyage nearly two centuries ago.”

One of the Darwin leaders – Josh Clarke, 24, from Falmouth, whose had a project in the Falkland Islands to study threatened bird species, described the experience as “life-changing”.

“Not only have I developed new skills and knowledge, but I’m also now part of a global network of people determined to protect our planet,” he said.

The Oosterschelde is set to sail again on Monday, bound for London on a “victory voyage” up the Thames.

The ship will dock at Tower Bridge Quay where a special visit from HRH The Duke of Edinburgh is planned for Friday.