A visit by a fleet of a dozen tall ships to the Buffalo waterfront over the holiday weekend was a huge hit. Buffalo Police estimate 125,000 people attended the Port of Call event.
The Bluenose II, a two-masted schoonerfrom Nova Scotia, was among the first of the tall ships to depart after spending the long Fourth of July weekend docked near the Erie Basin Marina.
Sarah Ristine of Buffalo was among a small crowd of people who gathered to see the ships off. Ristine said she has been to the downtown waterfront every day since they arrived Thursday.
"What a perfect location to see these on the backdrop of the silos, in the trees, in the Buffalo renaissance, in Lake Erie and all this. It's great," Ristine said.
Brian Fose of Buffalo, an amateur photographer, says since Friday, he has taken about 500 pictures of the historic vessels. Fose called the event "amazing."
"The way that things are just improving in Buffalo, just all the events going on in Buffalo is amazing. So I love it," Fose said.
Even though the tall ship festival has come to a close, at least one ship, the replica of the Santa Maria, will be docked at the Erie Basin Marina for another week. You can see some of WBFO photographer Eileen Koteras Elibol's photos of the vessel on our Facebook page.