News of: Wednesday, August 17 2005,
The first day of Sail 2005 has ended in a good atmosphere, and without serious problems.
The train problems turned out to be rather acceptable, as 2 tracks on the west side of Central Station are in use again. Continuous trains go to and through between Central Station and Amsterdam Sloterdijk.
Travellers to Schiphol airport should still take more time, as delays might happen.
Because of the opening parade (Sail-in) there were traffic jams on the roads to the Noordzee-kanaal, the canal between the seaport of IJmuiden and Amsterdam. Thousands of smaller boats accompanied the tall ships on their way to Amsterdam.
The first day of Sail 2005 had beautiful sunny weather and almost everything went according to plan. A minor incident was that the clipper 'Stad Amsterdam', which was steered by the Crown Prince Willem-Alexander and which was supposed to enter the Amsterdam harbour as the first tall ship of the Sail-in, got stuck on the ground before it could enter the harbour. A Danish tall ship was the first to enter the harbour. Towing boats had soon solved the problem.
