Hoist the sails during SAIL Amsterdam
Hundreds of historical ships on the water and countless activities on the quayside: SAIL Amsterdam 2015 will be one big extravaganza. This nautical event arrives in capital of the Netherlands every 5 years, and this 9th edition promises to be even more impressive and inspiring than ever before!
For the first time the SAIL area will be divided in so-called ‘oceans’, each with their own theme. The core is the Orange Ocean, the area around the IJhaven behind Amsterdam Central Station. The cultural centre of SAIL is located in Amsterdam’s city centre, which will be rechristened the Red Ocean. It is where you will find stages, exhibitions and routes to the maritime heritage sites. Amsterdam will be dedicated to sea transport and water sports for 5 whole days. Follow a few of the highlights from the extremely varied programme. You can find a complete overview on www.sail.nl
Parades on land and on the water
The Tall Ships pull in the crowds: traditionally these historic ships form the heart of SAIL. A record number of Tall Ships, in fact more than 50, will sail the waters of Amsterdam this year. There are also many firsts among them, for example the Young Endeavour all the way from Australia. During the traditional SAIL-In Parade, these ships sail in a convoy from IJmuiden over the North Sea Canal to Amsterdam, accompanied by thousands of smaller ships and boats. The parade that kicks off the event this year has almost twice the number of ships and boats as in 2010! A lovely spot from which to view the parade is at the Sixhaven, where the ships will be greeted with the Ceremonial Salute on arrival. And this year there is also a Sail-Out: on Sunday all the ships will sail out of the city en masse. This makes the Sunday almost as spectacular as the Wednesday.
You can also enjoy a spectacular procession on land: the Crew Parade. More than 1,000 crew members of all participating ships will walk in a festive procession through Amsterdam. The military crews will be dressed in their official uniforms, proudly carry the flag and bring the music of their country to life. This year the Crew Parade is again being held on Friday.
Go on the water yourself
In SAILsation, part of the Ertshaven, both children and adults can take part in numerous water activities such as building rafts, water skiing or sailing. The fast-growing water sport SUPing will also be put in the spotlight. SUPing stands for Stand Up Paddling and has become a major global trend. The participants can compete for the quickest time over a 350-metre course. Especially for children there is ‘Spelevaren’, an area of water where they can discover various types of water sports under safe and professional guidance.
Sparkling fireworks
SAIL ends every day with a big firework
display. There will be no problem bridging the time as there are also amazing musical performances at the Sail Music Marina throughout the evenings. And there will be some big names putting in an appearance on this stage in the IJ. You can enjoy the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra on Wednesday and a day later you can rock out with the Dutch band Kensington. You will need to purchase tickets for these shows. The fireworks start right after the performances, around 10:30 pm.
Story by KLM
