First Tall Ship docks ahead of Maritime Festival

A crew of sea cadets has navigated the first of the Tall Ships to dock in Belfast ahead of the annual Maritime Festival which gets underway on Saturday.

With the wind in its sails, the TS Royalist cut through the water on its way into Belfast Harbour on Thursday.

The sea cadets on board pulled together effortlessly as a team.

They've spent a week at sea - some learning the ropes - others building on skills from previous sea-faring adventures.

Two of the cadets are from Northern Ireland and highly recommend the training.

Alexandra McCullough told UTV: “You get a lot of character building and everybody works together as a team, nobody is left out.

“I get confidence on board, you get to meet new friends.”

Paddy Cush added: “There’s a lot of time you can spend at sea, doing courses you meet people from all over the UK learning skills and doing things others might not get the opportunity to.”

Sailing Master Jethro Friggens agrees that being a sea cadet is a great opportunity for young people.

He commented: “It’s a great adventure at sea, through the training we provide they develop a lot of life skills, sailing’s only a small part of what they get out of it.”

Below deck, it's a matter of getting used to confined spaces and living conditions.

The cadets will return to dry land, making room for a new crew to experience life on the high seas.

Thousands of visitors are expected to attend the Maritime Festival to see the Royalist and other Tall Ships on Saturday and Sunday.