THE first of the tall ships has sailed into the North-East port that will be hosting this year's maritime festival.

Eye of the Wind is a topsail schooner that was built in Germany by Conrad Luhring of Brake Unterweser in 1911.

Her colourful history has taken her around the world and she has had a notable movie career including Blue Lagoon, with Brooke Shields, Savage Islands, with Tommy Lee Jones, and The Bounty, with Mel Gibson and Anthony Hopkins.

Originally named Friedrich, she has visited Fiji, Tahiti, China, and New Zealand.

Last night, she was berthed opposite the Baltic, near the Newcastle Quayside.

Newcastle-Gateshead Tall Ships manager Phil Payne said: "It was an amazing sight to see her sail into the Tyne. There was quite a crowd there to welcome her, smiling and hanging over the railings as she sailed past.

"The sight evokes the history of how shipping must have looked hundreds of years ago."

The next tall ship, Kaliakra, is expected to arrive in the River Tyne at 10am. She is a symbol of the maritime heritage of Bulgaria and is one of the fastest tall ships in the world.

She was built at the Gdansk Shipyard, Poland, in 1984 and is owned by Navigation Maritime Bulgare.

The ship was designed for the training students from the Maritime Academy in Varna - the future officers of the Bulgarian merchant fleet.

More than one million people are expected to visit Tyneside for the festival, which starts this weekend, involving 100 ships.