September 10th 2014: Tall Ships Festival, London.

[xoxoxoBruce]

They've got a lot of hustling going on, for the few days they're tied up in London.

Seven of the smaller ships, plus the 300 guest Dar Mlodziezy, you can rent for;
a 2.5 hr reception, starting at £129 per person,
or a 4 hr Dinner Party starting at £209 per person.
The "starting" prices don't seem to include much other than the privilege of being there, but the list of optional things you can buy is endless.

If you really want to get jiggy, you can grab one of ten ships which includes most of the bigger ships, to go for a cruise.
2.5-3 hr cruise: MARITIME GREENWICH - sailing route 1, starts at £119 per person. (finger foods)
4-4.5 hr cruise: TOWER BRIDGE - sailing route 2, starts at £199 per person. (catering by First Class Cuisine)
5-5.5 hr cruise: THROUGH TOWER BRIDGE IN THE POOL OF LONDON - sailing route 3, starts at £229 per person. (they open Tower Bridge just for you)
4-4.5 hr cruise: PARADE OF SAIL: Tue Sept 9TH, starts at £259 per person (parade of sail is the big finally)
3.5 hr cruise with Gilligan and the Skipper. (not recommended)

I'd assume these packages would be purchased by companies to entertain corporate clients... or each other, while doing the Queen's wave to the peasants on shore. There's probably a hundred other opportunities to drop a fortune, down alone the river this week.

I also noticed that on the list of 21 ships used for either deck parties or cruises, 10 of them, mostly big ones, have bow thrusters. I'm surprised, but I can see they'd be invaluable on a big boat in the London Wharf environment.