THE TALL SHIPS WILL MAKE THIS 250 JULY 4 ESPECIALLY SPECIAL

BY HON ERIC J.J. MASSA

Like visions from a romance novel they emerge from the fog, some with white sails furled others with sails set and all flying huge oversized brightly colored signal and national flags. Today, Tall Ships evoke more emotion than virtually any other reminder of the days of sail and they are about to gather in an unprecedented number in New York City for the celebration of our 250th birthday. Soon, the waterfront will once again be filled with a forest of masts, sails, and rigging resembling the days of China Tea Clippers and Cape bound Windjammers. If you are looking to find a venue to capture the romance, beauty and grit of the heyday of sailing, this is your chance.

To be sure, New York has hosted Tall Ship gatherings on many memorable occasions including the dedication of the Statue of Liberty and the Millennial Celebration but not since Operation Sail ‘76, fifty years ago, have we been set to see so many of the ships of the International Sail Training squadron gather in one place at one time. From Europe, Latin America, Asia the Middle East, Tall Ships large and small will pass in review in honor of our 250th.

Maintained by the navies of the world and private sailing organizations as a primary training classroom for Naval Cadets, Midshipmen, and civilian mariners, these ships serve as ocean going classrooms for teaching practical seamanship including ship handling, navigation, and engineering all while providing a global ambassadorship for the countries who staff them.

From the largest square rigged ships like Argentina’s’ LIBERTAD, a three masted full rigged ship, and the near twins: JUAN SEBASTIAN DE ELCANO and ESMERALDA , both four masted top sail barquentines from Spain and Chile, to the United States privately operated ANGELIQUE, these vessels sail the world’s oceans often on extended global circumnavigations calling at dozens of ports in countries that touch all the world’s oceans, north and south.

Beginning on the Third of July the “Class B” sloops and smaller Tall Ships including General George Pattons’ famous sloop WHEN AND IF will arrive for their own parade on the Hudson. Visible from multiple viewing venues ashore and afloat the morning of the Fourth will begin with a massive fly over by fixed and rotary winged international aircraft lead by the legendary US Navy Blue Angles. Then starting at 930 AM and lasting until 2 PM, New Yorkers, and in fact what may well be tens of thousands of visitors, will have a once in a lifetime opportunity to witness what may well be the largest gathering of ocean-going Tall Ships since the actual age of sail.

Starting at 930 AM the larger “Class A” Tall Ships will pass in review of a US Navy Flag Ship, and exchange Naval salutes with traditional saluting cannon, parade up the Hudson and then reverse course to dock in the city for several days of open house ship visiting. One can anticipate a magnificent evening fireworks show to crown the day’s festivities.

To be sure, bringing a large sailing vessel into a busy port like New York, especially bringing dozens of sailing ships into port at the same time, requires exceptional seamanship, coordination, skill and extraordinary pilotage. Last year’s tragic collision between the Mexican tall ship CAUHTEMOC and the Brooklyn bridge reminds us of the need for extreme vigilance, professional maritime skills and safety awareness.

Thanks to the world-renowned professionalism of New York City Harbor pilots and the coordination of the US Coast Guard and US Navy, visitors and participants should be able to look forward to a once in a lifetime maritime parade. The waterfront will become a virtual international tour de force as visitors are welcomed on ships from Romania, Indonesia, France and Italy to name but a few. Each participating country will hold open house ship tours with crew members available to answer questions and some will offer waterfront cultural dancing, food sampling and more.

Dubbed “The Greatest Celebration in Our Nation’s History”, SAIL 4th will host some 15,000 sailors from 32 countries and will include not only the largest gathering of Tall Ships ever it will also feature an international fly over lead by the US Navy’s Blue Angles along with a “grey ship” international Naval Review.

Training aspiring Naval Officers aboard sailing ships may seem somewhat out of place in the age of space-based radars and hypersonic missiles but steadiness in moments of high pressure, the confidence of command and simple survival on the unforgiving oceans of the world can be best taught in the sea spray and lofty demands of tending sail hundreds of feet above the waves. Hanging on for dear life above an angry ocean, in the middle of a gale, while furling a violent sail the size of a small house has a way of maturing even the timidest and that has not changed in five hundred years of seagoing reality.

In addition to practical seamanship, the Midshipmen, Coast Guard and Naval Cadets and civilian mariners along with the officers and crews of these sea going embassies offer what is often the only hands-on glimpse of a wider world for the men and women who staff them.

This training is valued so much so that introduction of new purpose-built Tall Ships like Peru’s UNION, which was launched in 2016, continues the emphasis of what is seen as being so beneficial by so many navies including our own US Coast Guard who will be leading the parade of ships with the three masted bark USCG EAGLE, herself a former German training ship in service since World War Two. In fact EAGLES’ sister ships, Portugal’s’ SAGRES, the German GORCH FOCK and Romania’s’ MIRCEA will also be in attendance, the world’s only matched four sister ships in the Tall Ship Squadron.

In addition to practical seamanship the young mariners emerge from their months at sea more fully ready to become leaders in the maritime environment and many believe that the education in the seagoing fundamentals complements the technical training that is required in an ever more sophisticated ocean environment. These trainees, their officer instructors, and the crews that maintain the vessels will all be available to present the gleaming ships with mirror polished brass, artistically arranged lines and proud explanations of their journeys like so many delegations of the United Nations.

Plan on a once in a lifetime experience on the waterfront. Detailed information of activities during the six-day celebration can be found at www.sail4th.org with a listing of calendar events and ships participating.

The author is a retired US Naval Officer whose first sea going deployment was aboard ARA LIBERTAD in 1981 as an exchange Officer from the US Navy. He, as one of the youngest crew members, quite literally, “learned the ropes” while aboard the Tall Ship.