 Every five years, enormous ships come to
Amsterdam and form a display of
tall sail ships from all over the world. Docked on the quays are over twenty
so-called tall ships, and it is not only possible to walk by all of them,
most of them can be visited as well. Apart from the sailing ships, there are
literally hundreds of other ships, navy ships, a submarine, small boats, of
almost all kinds, docked, and sailing by. Not only interesting for ship
enthousiasts, the event is a great day out for almost anyone.
The event lasts almost a week. On the first day, the Sail In is a parade
of all the tall ships sailing from the North Sea to Amsterdam harbour
through the IJ, the river linking the Dutch capital to the sea. The next
days, the ships are all on display on the quays of Amsterdam harbour, and
can be seen walking on the quays, or from one of the many boats sailing
through the harbour. There are many other events as well, there is music,
there are boat races, and you can see many other traditional boats from
various parts of the Netherlands.
The skyline of Amsterdam harbour changes these days, the tall masts of
the ships pointing proudly into the skies. The harbour itself is an orgy of
ships, a chaotic bustle of small and large boats plying the waters to get a
close look at the other ships. The final day is Monday, when the ships leave
Sail Amsterdam again in Sail Out. A salute is given to all ships as they
sail by, the national anthem of their country is played, a cannon is fired,
and the sirens of the ships say good bye to Amsterdam.
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