An amateur record of the visits of various historic and military ships to Tyneside between 1984 and 1986. The film was made by River Tyne pilot boat captain, Capt. G.W. Purvis. This film begins with a view of the sailing ship, Statsraad Lehmkuhl, moored on the River Tyne, with the buildings of Newcastle city visible in the background. Close-up of the bow of the ship where its name is painted. View of the stern of the ship as it is moored alongside the Side, and the Baltic Flour Mill visible...

An amateur record of the visits of various historic and military ships to Tyneside between 1984 and 1986. The film was made by River Tyne pilot boat captain, Capt. G.W. Purvis. This film begins with a view of the sailing ship, Statsraad Lehmkuhl, moored on the River Tyne, with the buildings of Newcastle city visible in the background. Close-up of the bow of the ship where its name is painted. View of the stern of the ship as it is moored alongside the Side, and the Baltic Flour Mill visible in the background. Various shots of the ship's exterior: masts, bow, deck. A woman wipes a cloth along some of the deck fittings. The Norwegian flag flys off one of the masts. Further down river, views of aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious entering the Tyne at Tynemouth, flanked on both sides by tug boats. A helicopter flies overhead. Views of the ship travelling up the river. Sailors stand to attention along the deck. Harrier jump jets and helicopters are parked on the deck. Close-up of a newspaper cutting advertising the presence of the "last sea-going paddle steamer in the world", the Waverley. Views of the ship travelling along the River Tyne, packed with passengers. The ship moors alonside a dock, and passengers disembark. View of the ship's funnel, then of the ship steaming away from the dock. View of the Thames sailing barge, Hydrogen, moored along the quayside opposite Baltic. Various shots of the Waverley leaving and approaching the quay. Close-up of a newspaper article, headlined: "Veterans of sail due" - "The oldest wooden-hulled sailing vessel still in commission is due in the Tyne tomorrow. The square-rigger Inca, built in Spain in 1858, is racing another old sailing ship, The Marques buit in 1915, also in Spain. The tyo ships are racing round Britain in The Clipper Challenge [...]". Travelling shots, by boat, of heavy shipping on the Tyne, then at sea of wooden sailing ships. View inside the cabin on the boat the filmmaker is travelling on. View of a DFDS Seaways ferry navigating the river. Views of the two wooden sailing ships leaving the Tyne and heading for the North Sea. Views inside the cabin on the boat the filmmaker is travelling on, of his wife (?) and the crew. Views at sea of the wooden sailing ships, and ferry traffic. Close-up of a newspaper article headlined, "Sudden squal sank Marques". Close-up of an excerpt of the article:  "A sail training ship sank with the loss of 19 lives whithin two minites of being hit by a sudden squall 90 miles off Bermuda." Hand-written beside this article, "June 3rd 1984". Views of the Statsraad Lehmkuhl at sea. A rope ladder is tossed from the deck of the ship, and a member of the pilot boat's crew begins to board the vessel. Views of wooden sailing ships moored beside Spiller's Mill, Gateshead. A short sequence of footage filmed off the television (of a Northern Life programme) follows, showing a sailing ship travelling down the Tyne. Further views of tall ships, an interview with Victor Emelianov (interpreter) and the scrolling titles, "Seventy-nine sailing ships leave the River Tyne on Saturday 19th July for the start of the 1986 Cutty Sark Tall Ships Race. Ahead lies the North Sea and Germany, Norway then Sweden. Behind them a week full of unforgettable memories on Tyneside enjoyed by millions [...]." Then the programme's title sequence, "Tall Ships on the Tyne". Views of the flotilla of sailing ships leaving the River Tyne to participate in the tall ships race.