TALL SHIPS: Crowds flank river to bid ships bon voyage

Jul 22 2008 by Laura Sharpe, Liverpool Daily Post

Crowds flank river to bid ships bon voyage

Tens of thousands came from all over the UK, as well as from around the world, to see the Tall Ships Parade of Sail in the River Mersey. Laura Sharpe reports

THE departure of the Tall Ships brings to a close a momentous four days on the Mersey. And while there were some early organisational problems, the vast majority of spectators appeared to be delighted they had taken the time to visit Liverpool in its Capital of Culture year.

More than 400,000 visitors came into the city on Friday and Saturday, but yesterday’s Parade of Sail meant numbers soared past the million mark in total.

The Green family, from Birmingham, said they had made the trip to Liverpool by train especially to see the Parade of Sail.

Les Green, 61, with binoculars in hand, said: “We’ve planned this day for months and took a day off work, there’s no way we wanted to miss this.”

Angela Green added: “It has been fabulous, it’s a great day out and all this for free.

“Some of these ships have come a long way to get to the Mersey, so we don’t mind coming a long way to see them.”

Tan Lip Seng, from Singapore, said he had planned his trip to Liverpool to coincide with the Tall Ships’ visit.

A keen photographer, he said: “This is a fantastic event in a unique and historic city.

“Liverpool is already famous for the Beatles and football, and now for the Tall Ships.”

Residents closer to home also made the trip to the Albert Dock, with thousands of Merseyside residents taking a break from work or home to catch a glimpse of the ships.