Spent the day at the Albert Dock (for the short & medium sized Tall Ships) and then Wellington Dock for the really tall Tall Ships. A rain free day thank goodness but really windy – apparently if its this windy tomorrow it may be too much for the sails so the Parade will be just a bit less spectacular.
As well as the ships we saw people and more people queuing – mostly without complaint as (unlike the Liverpool Sound concert) the queuing was all very well organised and relatively fast moving. We also saw several stalls selling nautical goods and people and street entertainers and people and we heard a bit of shanty music but several times over the weekend as soon as we got close enough to see, they stopped – very frustrating.
We also boarded one ship, the Brazilian Cisne Branco whose flag was nearly as big as the ship and had a band playing Brazilian music.
So its the Parade of Sail tomorrow – Monday. Hopefully these details are still correct from the Tall Ships website…
Parade of Sail, Monday 21 July 2008 2pm – 4pm
Vessels will depart from Albert Dock ready to form up for the parade from 11.30am on Monday 21 July.
Liverpool’s sail trainees will be at the head of the parade on Stavros S Niarchos, right behind HMS Argyll.
Please note that the Ships at Wellington Dock will be closed to the public on Monday 21st July.
The final Parade of Sail is on Monday July 21st at 2pm and lasts about one and a quarter hours. The best viewing points for the parade on the Liverpool side are from the Britannia Pub, northwards along Riverside Drive, Riverside Walk/Kings Parade, Kings Dock/Albert Dock; Princes Parade north of Pier Head (although Royal Navy ships including RFA Lyme Bay berthed at the new Cruise Liner Terminal landing stage could obscure views) Wirral side viewing from Woodside Ferry, Birkenhead, New Brighton/Wallasey Promenade. The veteran excursion ship m/v Balmoral, of Waverley Excursions, and the Mersey Ferries will offer Parade viewing cruises.
Watch the Parade of Sail via the internet:
www.cam.icecreates.com
This webcam belongs to Merseyside based: ICE – Intelligent Marketing and Communications – www.icecreates.com
