The arrival this week of the first of the Tall Ships to dock in Northern Ireland — and the welcome if fleeting sunshine — are confirmation that our summer is not yet over.

The international headlines continue to reflect the conflict in many parts of the world, and the national news is still preoccupied by the economy and the effects of the credit crunch, but there is more to life than bad news.

It is all the more inspiring, therefore, that Northern Ireland will have something to celebrate for the next few days, with the arrival of so many elegant, historic and also modern Tall Ships. They include the Brazilian Cisne Branco — ‘White Swan’ in Portuguese — which was the first to reach Belfast.

By this time next week some 40 vessels will form the focus for the Belfast Maritime Festival and many thousands of Ulster families will be able to enjoy this unique flotilla at close quarters. The festival will also be a time for the crews to celebrate and to relax.

By all accounts it has been a difficult Atlantic crossing with a number of vessels and their sailors battling the heavy seas and inclement weather in a journey of well over 2,300 miles. It is a tribute to the seaworthiness of the Tall Ships and the skill of their professional and amateur crews, including young volunteers from Belfast, that they have arrived safely at their destination.

There is, of course, the serious business of the Atlantic Challenge in which 12 Tall Ships have taken part. At the time of writing, four have crossed the finishing line at Tory Island but because three different classes of vessel have taken part in the challenge, the outcome so far is not clear.

In fact the handicap system known as the Time Correction Factor Formula makes golf handicapping seem simple by comparison, but the purpose is the same — to try to place all the competitors on as equal a footing as possible.

The winners will be announced in Belfast next week but at the moment everyone is a winner — the participants themselves who enjoyed the achievement of crossing the finishing line after such a tough journey, the host ports including Belfast,

Londonderry and Ballycastle, and also the crews of the other vessels who are taking part for the sheer enjoyment of doing so.

This is the first time that the Tall Ships have arrived here in force since a previous visit during the Troubles. So much has changed for the better since then and the people of this province can now enjoy their summers without the fear of the continued violence which spoiled our community life for so long.

The only unknown factor this year is the weather. The summer in Northern Ireland has not been quite so bad as some people suppose and there has been a surprising amount of sunshine. Hopefully next week’s Belfast Maritime Festival will take place in the kind of good weather that makes all the difference.

In the meantime all those people, including the staff in Belfast Harbour, deserve thanks in helping to arrange such a spectacular event. This city, which has such an historic connection with the sea, will give the visiting crews and vessels a warm welcome to remember... whatever the weather.