100 Days to a Safe SAIL 2025: We're Making It Happen!
From Wednesday, August 20 to Sunday, August 24, Amsterdam will celebrate a triple anniversary of SAIL: 10 editions, 50 years of SAIL, and the 750th anniversary of our capital city. With dozens of Tall Ships and hundreds of vessels from the Sailing Heritage and the Dutch Fleet, SAIL promises to be a spectacular and unifying anniversary edition. The theme, United by Waves, says it all. This week marked the start of the final 100-day countdown to SAIL.
Famous Tall Ships such as the Clipper Stad Amsterdam and Germany’s green Alexander von Humboldt II will be present, along with exciting newcomers like the B.A.P. Unión (Peru), ARM Cuauhtémoc (Mexico), Shabab Oman II (Oman), DAR Młodzieży (Poland), and NRP Sagres (Portugal). The NRP Sagres also took part in the very first edition of SAIL in 1975. The B.A.P. Unión from Peru is one of the largest Tall Ships in the world. Together with hundreds of ships from the Dutch Sailing Heritage and the Holland Fleet, they will form an impressive nautical spectacle during SAIL 2025.
The SAIL In Parade marks the official start of SAIL 2025. On Wednesday, August 20, an impressive fleet of Tall Ships, naval vessels, the Holland Fleet, Sailing Heritage ships, and innovative vessels will sail from IJmuiden through the North Sea Canal to the IJ Harbour in Amsterdam. Dutch national broadcaster NOS will provide live coverage of the SAIL In Parade throughout the afternoon on NPO1.
The parade begins at the sea lock in IJmuiden with the official opening ceremony. By the end of the day, the ships will be welcomed into the city, where they will dock along the quaysides.
During the parade, the flags of all participating nations will be raised on the IJ side of Amsterdam Central Station. Together, we welcome ships and crews from around the world to our celebrating capital for the tenth edition and 50th anniversary of SAIL!
Port of Amsterdam's contribution
At Port of Amsterdam, we’re proud that the port of Amsterdam provides the stunning backdrop for SAIL. Starting this month, we’re calling ourselves Port of SAIL Amsterdam. A memorable and nautically safe SAIL? Together with our Harbour Master’s Division, we’ll make it happen!
Behind the scenes, months of preparations are already underway. One key plan is to lock through all Tall Ships at the same time using two locks — the Noordersluis and the new sea lock at IJmuiden — to ensure the parade remains continuous, with no gaps.
For safety reasons, commercial vessels will sail in convoys during the SAIL period. This will allow us to guide them through the busy waters around the heart of the event — the IJ and IJ Harbour — as quickly and smoothly as possible.