Small fleet of tall ships docked at Ipswich Waterfront

Eleven tall ships bearing the Dutch flag docked in the town as part of the annual Race of the Classics, a sailing race of crews of young professionals that takes place between the UK and the Netherlands.

On Tuesday the fleet of ships, which comprises experienced crews, trainees and young people who have recently finished higher education, left the Port of Scheveningen, near The Hague, before arriving in Ipswich on Thursday morning.

The Race of the Classics was founded by two Dutch students in the 1980s(Image: Oli Picton)

The target is be the first back to the Netherlands on Sunday, this time docking near Amsterdam before the winner is declared at the end of the week.

The ships are expected to leave on Friday morning.

In previous years, it has not been possible to dock in Ipswich due to poor weather.

The crew of the HNLMS Urania(Image: Oli Picton)

The crew of the HNLMS Urania, which is docked to the former site of The Mix café at the James Hehir building of the University of Suffolk, is made of up serving members of the Royal Netherlands Navy, trainees, young professionals and civilian members of the Ministry of Defence.

The Race of the Classics is not run for profit, but rather as a experience for young professionals and students with a passion for sailing and comradery(Image: Oli Picton)

The Navigation Officer of the Urania said that in years gone by the crew had delivered a keg of Heineken beer as a gift to the people of Ipswich, but that it unfortunately very rarely made the journey intact.

Another one of the ships, the Artemis, was built in Norway, in 1926 for whaling, before becoming a cargo ship and sailing between Asia and South America.

11 tall ships have made the voyage from Scheveningen to Ipswich(Image: Oli Picton)

The Artemis is now owned by the Tallship Company, who restored the eye catching ship and are based in the Netherlands.

They also have two other ships, the Atlantis and Antigua, with them all having a history of whaling, cargo and being a lightship.

In September, the Nao Santa Maria docked in Ipswich and stayed at the Waterfront for two weeks.

The ship is a replica of the original ship that sailed with Christopher Columbus' flee to America in 1492.