In 1835 the port of Waterford on the River Suir was home to no fewer than 115 merchant sailing ships, according to Anthony Marmion's book The Ancient and Modern History of the Maritime Ports of Ireland, published in 1856.
This great fleet had, in the previous year, participated in the export of 2,713 barrels of beef and pork, 392,613 sides of bacon, 132,384 cwts of butter, 19,139 cwts of lard, 340,112 barrels of wheat, oats and barley, 403,852 cwts of flour, 18,640 cwts of oatmeal, 44,241 pigs, 5,808 cows and oxen, 9729 sheep, and various cotton and manufactured goods.
On their return journeys the ships of the fleet participated in the import of tobacco, sugar, wine, tea, pitch, tar, and "almost every article of British manufacture". Over the next 20 years shipbuilding increased in the port, and although in terms of turnover Waterford was behind Dublin, Cork and Belfast, it developed a fine reputation for the construction of schooners, barques, brigs and full-rigged sailing ships, some of which remain on the records, including the 201-foot Merrie England, thought to be "the largest and finest sailing ship ever built in Waterford and probably the longest ever built in Ireland"(Bill Irish).
In those days Waterford city was thronged with seagoing men - master mariners, ships' mates and crewmen, carpenters, pilots, shipwrights, sawyers, block-makers, caulkers, rope-walk men, braziers, coppersmiths and ships' chandlers.
Harvey's Street Directory of 1839 lists some 40 sea captains who lived in close proximity to the Quays. Five of them owned public houses!
By the middle of the 19th century, the building of steel steamships was well on the way to making its own history, and the wooden sailing ship was in the decline. By the beginning of the first World War, just a few of the tall ships remained, carrying on a precarious trade across the Irish Sea, bringing pit props to Cardiff and coal back to Waterford, hoping they would be spared the fate of their fellow Waterford ships, the steamers Coningbeg and Formby, sunk within hours of each other by the submarine U-62 in 1917.
Some 60 years ago, the last remaining working sailing ship was retired, and there is no one alive today who has seen the River Suir at Waterford thronged with these great vessels.
Next week, however, from July 6th to 9th we will have a golden opportunity to witness such a scene once again when the Tall Ships Race comes to Waterford.
Not only will it be a great spectacle, but also a huge undertaking for the local committee and Waterford City Council, who have rowed in together (pardon the pun) and raised €1.9 million to finance this enormous project.
Over 90 ships from all over the world will sail up the estuary to Waterford. There will be vessels of all sizes - schooners, brigs, barques, barquentines, and square-rigged ships (in strict nautical terminology only vessels whose sails are all "square-rigged" are referred to as "ships"). The largest of them, the enormous Russian sailing ship Kruzenshtern, at 104 metres, or approximately 335 feet, from stem to stern would dwarf our Merrie England of glorious memory. But Ireland will be well represented too by the Dunbrody (62 metres), the Asgard II (25.5 metres) and the Jeannie Johnson (38 metres).
The crews of these vessels are expected to number around 4,500 or more, and Waterford is expecting to receive thousand of visitors from overseas as well as from other parts of Ireland. A total of 250,000 visitors over the week is being prepared for. No motor traffic will be allowed in the city centre or along the quays during the four days. Instead, cars may be parked at several points outside the city, from where buses, running every five minutes, will carry the visitor or resident to the city centre free of charge.
Meanwhile, work continues apace along the mile-long quayside to provide berthing for the visiting boats. This berthing will be permanent, and available for modern cruisers and family sailing boats. In the future, perhaps, the city may once again be known as "Waterford of the shippes" as it was 300 ago.
Full details of the Tall Ships Race's visit to Waterford may be found at the website www.waterfordtallshipsrace.ie