On July 26, the three-masted French sailing ship Belem sailed through the famous Tower Bridge in London. This is the same bridge that the Olympic rings were suspended from, and if you look closely you can see them folded back to allow the beautiful ship to pass. This amazing moment was beautifully captured by Paul Starkey on Flickr.

For a great shot from the other side of the bridge, check out the official Belem blog.

Belem was originally a cargo ship, transporting sugar from the West Indies; and cocoa and coffee from Brazil and French Guinea to Nantes, France. She was launched on June 10th, 1896.

After becoming the property of various owners throughout the early 1900s (including beer baron Sir Arthur Ernest Guiness), she finally returned to her home port as Belem in 1979. After undergoing a full restoration to her original condition she has been sailing as a training ship and French ambassador ever since. [Source: Wikipedia]