Amsterdam Sail 2015 officially kicks off

The first tall ships have arrived in the capital and Sail Amsterdam 2015 has officially kicked off. The first batch of tall ships left IJmuiden around 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday morning. Among them was the flagship of the Sail-In Parade - De Amsterdam, according to NOS. The ship carried about 150 guests, including Sail patron Prince Maurits and Amsterdam Mayor Eberhard van der Laan. Prince Muarits was steering the ship when it arrived in the capital. The parade was welcomed to the city with canon blasts and the singing of the national anthem. According to the Sail Amsterdam official Twitter account, the public stood rows deep to watch the arrival. The streets of the capital are packed with spectators, especially on the quays around Central Station and directly opposite the north side of the IJ. According to RLT, the municipality calls it "a cozy atmosphere". The event organization expects about 2 million visitors in the next few days. The popularity of the event is also noticeable on the roads. Earlier this morning there was a traffic jam of some 18 kilometers long on the A9 between Amstelveen and IJmuiden, that has cleared up since. Motorists avoiding the highway also caused a jam on the A10 and the local roads to the North Sea were also very busy. https://twitter.com/vid/status/633926644797935616 The Amsterdam police have announced that the anti-pickpocket campaign they launched for Amsterdam Gay Pride will also be in effect during Sail. Sail visitors are encouraged to install a "find my phone" app on their smartphones, to make the devices easier to find should they be stolen.

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