The River Suir may not have been at her sparkling best beneath a glum dark sky but the Waterford quays never looked so lively as an estimated 50,000 plus people thronged the promenade and city centre yesterday for the second day of the Tall Ships.
Supt Dave Sheehan reckoned that Waterford had never seen such a crowd with thousands lining the streets all the way down from the Hill of Ballybricken to the South Quay to see the crews of the ships parade through the city.
"You couldn't swing a cat on Barronstrand Street, it was that crowded," said Supt Sheehan as he went to check on the numbers using the park-and-ride facilities dotted around the perimeter of the city.
Yesterday saw the arrival of two more of the larger Class A sailing ships, the former whaling barque, Artemis, from the Netherlands and the 109-year-old French barque, Belem.
The two vessels moored up river alongside some of the other larger vessels such as the Norwegian beauty, the Christian Radich, the Portuguese Sagres, Pogora from Poland and the giants, the US Eagle and the Russian Kruzenshtern.
Among the many visitors enjoying the sight were French family, Phillipe and Rosemarie Plaksine and their daughters, Charlotte (14) and Margaux (11) from Aix-en-Provence.
"We are staying in Cashel and we decided to come down to see the ships - they are very impressive - it's a pity that it isn't sunny as they would look even more beautiful," said Rosemarie.
Also enjoying the day were Gerald and Peggy Landers and their friends, Denis and Mary Doody - all from Killarney - who had visited some of the ships and were just enjoying the atmosphere.
"We were on six of the ships - all the big ones and they were all very impressive, spick-and-span and spotless," said Gerald, adding that they were also impressed because none of the restaurants had raised their prices for the festival.
One of the warmest welcomes was reserved for the sailors of the Indonesian naval ship, the three masted barquetine, Dewaruci, adopted by Waterford following the tsunami disaster. The organisers were preparing for even larger crowds for the fireworks display tonight and the Parade of Sail down the river on Saturday morning.
