Sail 2005

Last week was the Sail festival.. it happens every five years in Amsterdam. Boats of all shapes and sizes float in from all over the world to share in the celebration of.. boats.. I guess.. I'm not really sure how it all started.. I never did pick up one of the brochures.. anyways.. if you like boats, then this post is for you!

I think the ship in the distance is an original ship used by the Dutch East India company.. it's always docked by the Scheepvaartmuseum, although I think someone took it for a spin during the festival.





I bet this person knows how to enjoy life.



This is actually a beach.. It's probably the highest beach above sea-level.. They had water running down the middle of the bleachers.. and beach type huts at the top of the stairs..






I'm sure this guy has an interesting story to tell..



What about these guys?



I think this woman/man has a safe on his/her boat.. Maybe they're making a sequel to the Italian Job?



I tried to catch up to this shoe.. but it was going too fast.. and I was carrying a big rice cooker.

















Unrelated picture.. incase you need a break from boats..





The best view of all the boats.. I discovered.. was on the top floor of the post office building.. in the men's washroom.. A lot of other people discovered it too.. by the time I left there were women there snapping photos..







Unrelated picture 2



Security guys..







They had DJ booths on both sides of the harbour.



excitable man..



People were paying to get on this cran.. apparently it gives the best view of all the ships.. I should have told them about the washroom.



a long way from home..





Unrelated pic 3



The NEMO building.. thats the one with the beach at the top.



Do you see the name of this submarine? It's Zeeleeuw... those are the kinds of letters I usually get in a scrabble game.





This is a Omani sailing boat.. I just had to check it out.. its called Shabab Al-Oman.. loosely translates into "The Guys of Oman" or something like that..






They had some cool gadgets inside..



the captain was a bit young..



they had some pictures and info about Oman..





The Omanis started playing music on a bagpipe-like instrument.. with drums.. the men started dancing.. The Dutch people were really enjoying it..