By Kim Dismont Robinson The first vessels in the Tall Ships 2000 race have officially docked in St. George's after spending close to three weeks crossing the Atlantic.

German vessel Peter von Danzig was the first to cross the finish line during the early hours of Saturday morning, followed by Ocean Spirit of Moray .

More than 50 vessels left Cadiz, Spain on May 7. A Harbour Radio spokesperson said three other smaller vessels -- Esprit , Rona II and Stella Polare -- had all arrived by Sunday afternoon.

The Maiden was due to reach Bermuda's shores late Sunday night, with four more expected to arrive today.

And the spokesperson said all the vessels already docked are smaller crafts -- between 55 and 80 feet -- but the first of the large square riggers is expected to arrive on Wednesday.

Royal Gazette reporter Ben Greening was a crew member aboard the Ocean Spirit of Moray . Mr. Greening and fellow crew member Grant Spurling were the first two Bermudians to cross the finish line.

"It was a really cloudy, rainy day when we got in... but as a Bermudian, seeing the shadowy outline of Bermuda on the horizon was just the best thing after being at sea for three weeks,'' he said.

"I felt proud to be a Bermudian, and it made me feel great that so many young Bermudians had this opportunity -- to cross the ocean on our own hard work, using the wind instead of motoring along.'' First boats in Tall Ships 2000 arrive Mr. Greening said the journey made him think about Bermuda's nautical history, and he drew a few mental parallels between this voyage and that of the Sea Venture .

"Some of the other crew members had a lot of questions about Bermuda... it made me think about the epic journey of the Sea Venture across the Atlantic, and how amazing it was to find such a tiny island,'' he noted.

"You only begin to truly appreciate the size of the ocean -- of the world -- on a journey like this. Travelling by airplane isn't the same,'' he added.

The Royal Gazette interviewed the crew aboard the German vessel Peter von Danzig , who talked about life on the high seas.

The ship, commanded by 60-year-old skipper Otto Beckmann, had 12 crew members aboard, four of whom were women. Most of the crew were students at the University of Kiel, a school near Hamburg.

Friederike Determann, a 24-year-old woman studying English, French and History, said the trans-Atlantic crossing was the longest journey she'd ever taken by sea.

"I started sailing in 1996, and I've been sailing mostly on the Baltic Sea.

This is the longest journey yet -- we started off in Kiel on April 2, then on to Southampton before heading to Cadiz,'' she said.

Despite the amount of time they've spent on the sea, Ms Determann said she had not yet grown tired of the ocean.

"It's nice to be here on land to take a shower and move around a little more, but it's been a lot of fun to be on the boat as well,'' she said.

"We had a few funny moments at sea. For instance, the boat is always keeling, so when sitting at the kitchen table I had to use one hand to hold my coffee and the other to push against the table so I didn't fall off my seat.'' And 29-year-old Dirk Hornschuh added: "(The keeling) can also be hard of your shoulder, because if you're keeling for three days, you end up leaning and sleeping on the same shoulder night after night.'' The crew members said living together so closely on their voyage reminded them of MTV's "The Real World'', a programme about the relationships between young adults as they live and travel together.

"When you're together with people in such a small space for such a long time, you really get to know each other well,'' said 25-year-old midwife Felicitas Thiessen.

"But your only thought is to push the ship forward -- it's nice because you live only on the boat and you leave your troubles at home.'' Skipper Otto Beckman said this is his second trans-Atlantic voyage to Bermuda -- the first time was in 1964.

"I won that race, too,'' he chuckled. "This time, we had better, steadier winds and a much faster boat -- it took 19-and-a-half days this time instead of 34-and-a-half.'' When asked what they missed most mid-Atlantic, they said "ice, strawberries with cream, and apples''.

"We just wanted something cold and fresh,'' said Mr. Beckmann. Everything we had was canned, everything we had was warm and old,'' he chuckled.

But the long journey has not dampened the crew's appetite for adventure -- they are already thinking about their next sailing trip.

"The whole time, you're thinking about crossing the Atlantic -- now the dream is over and we have to search for another goal,'' said Ms Thiessan. "Maybe next time the Pacific, or around the world in a smaller boat.''