Crew Party Hard

One of the most hotly anticipated events took place on Friday night at Shelbourne Park, Dublin: the final crew party of The Tall Ships Races 2012.

This was an opportunity for all crew and trainees to let their hair down and meet members of others ships.

Following a dinner the night proceeded with variation of dog racing pitting each Tall Ship against each other  with the crew from the winning boat having their photo taken on the prize podium with the winning dog.

This was following by a lot of strange dancing from the international crews.  It was evident that everyone was eager to try out their sea legs on the dance floor.

As the Dublin Tallships festival 2012 draws to an end we caught up with some of the trainees on board to find out how they enjoyed Dublin and their stay overall.

At the crew centre located on North Wall Quay trainees avail of the many luxuries they were denied on board during their race.

They can do their laundry, take advantage of the 24hr toilet and shower facilities, chill out on bean bags and comfy sofas with fellow trainees, pass the time on the variety of games tables and reconnect with family and friends in their home countries through the wifi and skype enabled PCs provided.

And for anything else they may need assistance with in Dubin there are always Liaison Officers and volunteers available to answer any queries.

The crew centre has been buzzing throughout the weekend and has been reported by crew as one of the best they have experienced.

Check out why the Dublin crew centre has been rated so highly in this gallery.