The Tall Ships

Greenport Tall Ships Challenge

Ahoy there matey!

This past Memorial Day weekend, my son and I visited the Village of Greenport on Long Island to check out the Tall Ships.  The TALL SHIPS CHALLENGE® Series is an annual series of tall ship races and maritime port festivals that educate the public about tall ships, maritime heritage and the power of sail training.  This series is just one of the many events sponsored by the American Sail Training Association. The race itinerary was selected to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812.  This year the tall ships travel the Atlantic Coast.  The challenge started in Savannah, Georgia, and then to Greenport, New York in May.  In July the Tall Ships will be in Newport, Rhode Island and Halifax, Nova Scotia. Baltimore will also host the tall ships this coming week, June 13th-19th at the “Star-Spangle Sailabration” along the Inner Harbor and the Chesapeake Bay.

Pride of Baltimore II

As you will see from the pictures, it was a beautiful day when we went aboard some of the ships.  We toured the Pride of Baltimore II and the LYNX.  These ships are living museums and the crew on board was excited to share their knowledge of the roles that their respective ships played in the War of 1812.  Of course, the highlight was the celebrity ship, the HMS Bounty.  The HMS Bounty built for the movie “Mutiny on the Bounty” in 1962, but most would recognize this ship from “Pirates of the Caribbean.”  Even though my son and I were only an hour from home, we had to act like a tourist and get a picture with “Jack Sparrow.”

HMS Bounty

We had a great time boarding the historic sailing vessels and spending time at the Tall Ship Festival.  The festival took place at Mitchell Park Marina.  There was no shortage of things to do, so we spent our time checking out the museum public exhibit displays, shopping and watching families on the carousel.  My only regret was that we were not able to sail away on one of the Roseway excursions.  Of course, the lobster roll at Claudio’s and live music on the main stage quickly had me forgetting our missed trip to Bug Lighthouse.

Delicious Lobster Roll at Claudio’s

Carousel

Where to go in Greenport?

Do you plan on seeing the Tall Ships this week in Baltimore or checking out the TALL SHIPS CHALLENGE® Race Series and Maritime Festivals in Newport and Halifax?