BUFFALO, N.Y. (WBEN) - After close to 125,000 people visited Canalside last weekend to witness the tall ships along Buffalo's waterfront, many returned to the waterfront to witness the ships leave Canalside and Erie Basin Marina.
"We were just sitting here reminiscing about how many ships come in and out of this harbor in the past and how many of them were tall ships that had to dock through here," David Schaefer, who was with his wife Diane, said.
Lisa Busch from Buffalo walked around Erie Basin Marina with camera at the ready for the tall ships to leave the port.
"We were here (Sunday) and we were able to see all the ships," she said. "We went aboard them. It was a beautiful day with beautiful scenery. It was absolutely gorgeous and quite memorable."
Meanwhile, Sandy chatted with us on a bench while next to the Picton Castle. She didn't get a chance to go to the festival over the weekend but was amazed with the ships in the hours leading up to their departure.
"The masts are just massive," she said.
PHOTOS: Thousands visit waterfront to see Tall Ships
Seven of the twelve tall ships left Buffalo's waterfront on Monday morning to continue their tour along the Port of Call. Buffalo will still host a few ships throughout the rest of the week. The Brig Niagara will remain at Canalside until Monday night while the Pride of Baltimore is there until Tuesday. Picton Castle at the Erie Street dock will leave on Wednesday.
The Santa Maria is the last tall ship to leave. It will remain by Erie Basin Marina until Sunday and offer continued tours.
"She's got special permission," Port of Call: Buffalo organizer Mike Vogel said. "She was such a popular ship here. She has permission to remain open to the public through Sunday."
The Santa Maria will be open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Ticket costs are $10 for adults and $5 for children.
Vogel addressed some of the criticisms of the Tall Ships including the large fence that prevented those who didn't pay to get from getting a good look of the fence. He said that if there was no fence, there wouldn't have been a festival because the fence was required by the Department of Homeland Security.
"This was actually a higher level of security than the commissioning of the (USS Little Rock)," he said. "We do have to have ticketed security zones, similar to airport security."
He said they also had to adjust the policy on water because of Friday's sweltering heat and humidity.