SAIL Amsterdam: Crowds fill quays as first ships arrive in Amsterdam waters
Crowds gathered on the quays around the IJ River in Amsterdam to watch the first tall ships and other historic vessels from around the world arrive for SAIL Amsterdam. The event organizers expect approximately 2.4 million visitors over the next five days, according to the province of Noord-Holland.
The Sail-In parade started in IJmuiden at 10:00 a.m. this morning. The first ships started arriving in Amsterdam’s IJ Port at around 2:00 p.m. Leading the parade was the Clipper Stad Amsterdam, with the Commissioner of the King, Arthur van Dijk, and Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema on board.
A total of 10,000 ships from 20 countries are participating in SAIL Amsterdam this year. Among them is the Nao Santa Maria, a replica of the Spanish ship that played a key role in Europeans' making it to America. Another reconstruction debuting at this edition of SAIL is the Witte Swaen, a reconstruction of the expedition ship Willem Barentsz sailed to the Arctic in 1596.
Among the massive ships is the Dar Mlodziezy, a 109-meter-long and 51-meter-high Polish ship owned by a maritime university and used to train future naval officers. Even larger is the B.A.P. Union from Peru, at 115 meters long. This is the first training ship of the Peruvian Navy and the largest sailing ship in Latin America.
There are also a few notable absences in this edition. For example, the Sedov, the world’s largest still-sailing ship, and several other Russian ships aren’t welcome this year due to the war in Ukraine. “As a maritime event, we have close ties with the Royal Netherlands Navy, and we are not blind to what’s happening in the world,” Chris Janssen of SAIL told AT5.
The Mexican sailing ship Cuauhtemoc is also missing after it collided with the Brooklyn Bridge in New York in May. It wasn’t repaired in time for SAIL. The ARA Libertad from Argentina, one of the fastest tall ships, is also not present due to a previously scheduled voyage.
