Amsterdam preparing for Sail 2010 in August

AMSTERDAM – The Dutch capital city of Amsterdam will be the venue again this summer for Sail 2010, during which it will he host to 50 tall ships from as many as twenty countries. It is expected that the new replica of the Swedish merchantman Götheborg will participate as well as the UAE’s Dhow Theyab, which is owned by Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince. Organizers expect another 500 Dutch heritage ships to be at the event which in 2005 attracted 1.8 million visitors in five days. Many of the tall ships will be open to the public. A new feature is the SAILsation competition when Dutch sailing barges, in Frisian called skûtjes, will challenge each other for an event championship. Other maritime activities include the North Sea Tall Ships Regatta, a race between Hartlepool in the U.K. and the Dutch coastal port of IJmuiden, the SAILIN Parade and a spectacle on Amsterdam’s canals, called the Pieremachocheltocht.