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Tall ships under splendid sail

The ships had raced 600 nautical miles from Spain to Portsmouth

PORTSMOUTH, England -- A parade of 58 tall ships attended one of Europe's biggest maritime festivals, The Cutty Sark Tall Ships Race.

The ships from around the world sailed out of Portsmouth Harbour on Sunday into the Solent behind the Type-42 destroyer HMS Exeter.

A spokesman for the festival told the UK's Press Association that up to one million people visited the ships over the four days of the festival, which was a record attendance.

The ships completed the race from Santander in Spain to Portsmouth.

It is an annual youth event bringing together youngsters, some with disabilities, from around the world.

The crews spent up to nine days at sea learning the ropes as they crossed the 600 nautical miles of the Bay of Biscay.

The ships have come from many countries including Poland, Russia, the UK, Spain, Italy and France.

The overall winner of the race was a Latvian Class C2 vessel called Spaniel.