please empty your brain below

However hard I try to stay on top of events happening in London I always seen to miss something significant, like this. I've just had a look at their website, hoping I could at least get a boat down the river to see the ships a little more closely than the shore permits, but at £60 a ticket I think I'll be on a Thames Clipper instead.
Ah yes, the most annoying habit the event people have of calling yachts "tallships".
I was interested to note that Greenwich Council were able to hire a number of high-vis 'stewards' to exhort people to get off their bikes in and around the Greenwich Foot Tunnel, but no one to fix the South lift, which has been out since Wednesday - meaning anyone hoping to come from the Isle of Dogs in a wheelchair/with a buggy is well and truly stuffed.
Sorry, that should read 'Royal Greenwich' were able to hire...
Ah, the Incompetent Mapmakers are at work again, eh? Last year they produced 'London's New Park', the only map of the Olympic/QE Park that the park's Information Point could offer. Designed to confuse, it omitted parts of the park altogether.
DG 
Spent most of Friday afternoon watching the Tall Ships from the North Bank. 

Started at Island Gardens and followed the riverside footpath for a mile or so  before going on to the park just down river often Woolwich Ferry.

Many of the ships were carrying passengers  gracefully between the 2 points but alas as you said no wind so no sails in use except for one advertising Mercedes.

Not seen the river looking as busy this for some time and old steam tug put in an appearance at Greenwich at one point
Hi HoosierSands

They do feel very tall when your 120 foot up the mast, in a bosuns chair!
We had a good view of the fireworks from Island Gardens park last night at least. Fireworks in Woolwich tonight.
We had the Tall Ships visit here in Portsmouth, years back.

It was really interesting, and they threw in a few Naval ships which were in harbour at the time. Just think, one of the NATO dockyards wide open to all and sundry!

They've not been back since, probably cos HMG are determined to move anything to do with the Navy to Rosyth - no doubt to induce them to vote "No'.

Ah well. As for actually sailing such vessels in the Thames - does anyone have the required skills these days?
I went back on the weekend. It (maritime greenwich venue) was barely worth the fifteen minute walk from my flat...
The "old steam tug" referred to by Ray is the ST Portwey, built on the Clyde in 1927, coal burning with twin compound engines, and operated by a charitable trust on the Thames and Medway. And yes I was on board as a guest on Friday!
@Ray That ship with "Mercedes" on its sail isn't advertising Mercedes Benz-that's the name of the ship.

@Steve Barker-try clambering up the ratlines, pulling yourself parallel to the deck (80 ft below)over the futtocks and onto the top up to the crosstrees and then along the yard. And getting down is worse.
I've crewed a square rigger in the Pacific, and had this in my diary since last year. But the web site was pretty useless for visit planning, and the printed leaflet exactly as bad. It really wasn't worth the effort of climbing up the stairs from the DLR (will this ever be fixed?). Too many crowds shuffling around at a zombie pace. I think the historical demos and talks could have been interesting, but given no list of attractions I moved on to take stock, and couldn't be bothered to fight my way back through the zombies to see more. My worst ever visit to Greenwich. Contrast this with GDIF who always communicate what there is to see, where and when.
We tried to cycle down from Deptford to the Dangleway to see the ships, but the hi-viz jobsworths were out in force not even allowing us to wheel our bikes along the footpath from the old Greenwich power station to the O2, so we missed many of the ships. A real shame when there was plenty of space to push the bikes.
I went to see the tall ships in Falmouth. It was just as poorly advertised etc there....but actually going into Falmouth Dock was quite interesting.
I really wanted to see them race/sail away as advertised but seeing as the race from Falmouth started 4 miles out to sea (obviously!) and the crowds weren't allowed in to see them moving out of the dock...it was a bit disappointing really.
I nearly went to Greenwich today to see if it was any better but glad I didn't after reading this.
Visited with my son late yesterday afternoon by tube to N. Greenwich. Dangleway massively crowded despite the mist, but if you ignored the signage and the hi-viz "helpers" who didn't seem to know where they were, it was a quick walk down the Thames Path to the ships. 20 mins queue to get on board the Stavros Niarchos (British registered and Portsmouth based shape named after a Greek benefactor). Well worthwhile, with the crew happy to explain the hundreds of ropes and let the kids ring the ship's bell.

Continued the walk to Greenwich, which seemed full of happy people enjoying the late afternoon sun.

Not such a failure of a festival from this perspective.
Caught the 08:35 Clipper from Woolwich this morning had a great close up of the tall ships moored here, no one around. Good views from the Thames Clipper. Came back on the DLR to George V then Ferry across back to Woolwich. Thought at one point the ferry was going to collide with one of,the tall ships. Plenty of tall ships on viewing going backwards and forwards. However, my highlight was the Lake Deer departing from the Tate & Lyle refinery with assistance from a couple of tugs and then another vessel arriving for the refinery manoeuvring with help,from one of the tugs. I never seen the Thames so busy it was great.

I was then able to drive home as I had parked my car in the river front car park at 08:15 this morning.
Some rather better quality maps at the temporary exhibition at the OXO tower. Runs until next Sunday (14th). Well worth a short diversion. http://www.oxotower.co.uk/events/mapping-london/










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