# Tall Ships Ferstival......



## WereBo (Apr 5, 2008)

I went to the 'Tall Ships Festival' in Greenwich yesterday, following their around-the-world race. Although it was a nicely warm day, it was very overcast cloudy, which was horrible for photography as everything looked so flat. The lack of wind also meant the ships had to rely on their engines, rather than sail :sigh:

I carried on regardless though and, got 130 pics from 158 taken - All pics have had their levels tweaked slightly......







































The kids were kept occupied too.... :grin:


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## SABL (Jul 4, 2008)

Nice pics, Bo......:thumb:. I see the kids.......looks like a nice dark ale they be drinking....:grin:

Wish we had something like that around here......:sigh:. They've removed a 'low head' dam on one of the rivers (Scioto) that runs through downtown Columbus to reclaim a few scres of land. The replica of Santa Maria will need to be relocated......it's the only ship in the city and was brought in on trucks.....:laugh:. We're too far inland and have no navigable rivers.

Columbus, Ohio, to move Santa Maria replica - Charter.net


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## WereBo (Apr 5, 2008)

Thanks SABL, it was a warm enough day that a pint would have gone down nice, but I was driving later in the afternoon, so I didn't bother - What was really annoying was that there were lots of places selling coffee but tea was extortionate prices (I can't drink coffee, it gives me stomach-cramps) :nonono:

That's a beautiful looking replica of the Santa Maria, I hope they find a suitable mooring-berth for her, when the new parks are finished.

The Tall Ships Race used to start just up-river from me at London Bridge, but a new 'Thames Crossing' down-river at Dartford ended it when they found it was too low for the ships to get under. Some of the ships have retractable or hinged masts, which lets them under, but a lot of the older ships can't be adapted - A great loss :sigh:


Of all the ships there, the Cutty Sark is still the most beautiful and elegant, although she'll never sail again....











Part of the display was by the few remaining 'Thames Barges', they used to sail between London and the SE coastal towns, delivering goods both ways....




















Some of the paintwork was beautiful too, I loved the dragon on the 'JR Tolkien', most appropriate....




















Walking along the 'Thames Walkway' I found this gem, the ugly building behind is the old Greenwich Power-Station, now unused and going derelict....




















A lovely palm tree....


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## zuluclayman (Dec 16, 2005)

some grand old dames of the sea there WereBo..and some nice boats too :laugh:


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## WereBo (Apr 5, 2008)

Thanks Zulu, there was a lot more of the large ships further down-river at Woolwich, but that was waaaay too far to walk and finding a parking-space is nigh on impossible. What did surprise me is how clean the River Thames is nowadays, though it doesn't look like it at 1st glance. Seeing lichen etc. like this was unknown 'til recently.....


Deptford Creek.....




















T'other side of Greenwich.....




















Thames surf..... :lol:










The Thames close up.... :grin:











What happens when a pano goes wrong...... :lol:











The 'O2' Dome, a Polish ship with an unpronounceable name and the Emirates 'Air-Line' together.....











A lovely palm-tree, one of the side-roads next to the river....


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## Rich-M (May 2, 2007)

Thanks for that WereBo, I really enjoyed your day and also wish we had something like that here. I remember years ago when I lived in Boston we has=d the USS Constitution docked and had a great time walking through that great ship and photographing it also.
But the sheer weight of how much you sawand took photos of is awe inspiring!


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## WereBo (Apr 5, 2008)

Thanks Rich, although I've never really had any interest in sailing, I really love the ships themselves, perhaps I was a sailor in a previous incarnation or something :lol:

I'm looking forward to Tuesday, when all 50+ ships are supposed to come up to Greenwich, then form a mass flotilla as they leave, to end the festival.

It's fortunate the weather was so calm, I'd hate to see this guy otherwise....




















Back in the early 70's, I worked as an electronics-tester for a company called ITT-STC, making the trans-oceanic phone-cables. The bit I did was to test the components used in the 'repeaters', torpedo-sized tubes that boosted and filtered the signals, along the length of the cable. They also used to make the marine-cable too and had their own ships. This is here they were loaded.....

This is the guide-wheel, where the cable was wound onto the ship....










This held the cable over the river-path underneath....




















A little way alongside, was the jetty for the crew's access.....




















When the factory first opened, the Site-Manager lived on-site with his own house provided, it was used as offices when I was there but it still looked elegant and smart - Not no more now, sadly :sigh:....











Finally, I decided to start heading back home and got to the main area when I was surprised to see this guy there.....



















I'm still not fully convinced it wasn't the real one, his mannerisms, speech, walking and everything was so realistic :grin:


Lastly, a lovely mural I saw, painted on the side of a bookshop....


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## WereBo (Apr 5, 2008)

It was the grand finale yesterday, all 47 ships left their various moorings and sailed up to the 'London Pool' (A wide bit of the Thames, where there's room for large ships to turn around) then held a 'Sail Past', before returning home to their ports around the world.

The up-river trip.....
























































Taken from the local creek, Canary Wharf makes a beautiful backdrop...











The crowds where out in force...... :grin:


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## MPR (Aug 28, 2010)

Nice pictures. For fun, I converted the one with the "Tolkien" in front of those apartments to black and white -- it makes for a neat picture, looking like something that could have been drawn a hundred years ago.

I got a kick out of that old pier with the sign that said "BEWARE, anti-climb paint." In Britain, apparently you warn away would-be trespassers by telling them that they might get a smudge on their clothes and find it a bit slippery should they proceed. In the US, such signs usually inform would-be trespassers that they will face a heavy fine and jail time and be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, if they are not shot outright.


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## joeten (Dec 4, 2008)

I noticed the sign and had to look twice as at first I miss read it as ants climb paint.
lol


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## WereBo (Apr 5, 2008)

Hehehehe.... Thanks guys :lol:

It's a very impressive sight to see so many sailing ships, all at once. It's also nice to use the old Royal Naval College as the background for 'em too....















































This one is the 'Shtandart', a replica of Czar Peter the Great's flagship, built in 1703.....


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## joeten (Dec 4, 2008)

Very nice Bo, you got better weather this time.


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## WereBo (Apr 5, 2008)

Oh yes, and I didn't get sunburnt either.... :lol:


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## joeten (Dec 4, 2008)

Was that factor 50 or factor hat.


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## WereBo (Apr 5, 2008)

It was a combination of long hair and squinting through a viewfinder for 2 hours, oh and a pint or 2, purely to prevent dehydration.... :grin:


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## joeten (Dec 4, 2008)

OK, that covers the first 2


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