The Sail Boston Grand Parade of Sail, led today by the USS Constitution, is a once in a generation event in part because it is rare to see the sheer number of these historic ships together in one day.
For many spectators lining the city from Castle Island to Piers Park, this also marks an opportunity to pay tribute to the generations before us who built and sailed them and show the next generation how we honor them.
“As you look out at the Tall Ships, imagine they were once the freight trains of the past.
But, also, men like Donald McKay was a Master of Design and shipbuilding here in East Boston and his ship ‘Flying Cloud’ made an astonishing 89 day run from east coast to west coast in 1851,” said Chris Hood of CW Hood Yachts of Marblehead and the nephew of famed sailor Ted Hood.
“These ships linked our east and fledgling west coast cities, by sailing from Boston or New York around Cape Horn and back up to San Francisco.
The fastest ships received the best cargo and highest rates.
These swift clipper ships were the FedEx of the day!”
For Carol Zitano there was no better place for her and her family to be but at Piers Park in East Boston.
The beautiful setting and the passing ships reminded this East Boston native of how her own memories have always involved Tall Ships.
“I remember as a young person - 50 years ago in 1976 - we came down here to the wharf and sat on the rocks to watch the Tall Ships.
When I was growing up, this area was simply referred to as 'the wharf' and it was a distressed and abandoned waterfront,” Zitano said.
“Young people used to go swimming off these derelict piers and pilings.
Yet, to me, East Boston has always been a hidden gem.
Today, we can enjoy this beautiful park and learn to sail at Piers Point Sailing center.
My nephew grew up learning to sail here.
Today he drove here from where he now lives in Maine to see this parade.”
She noted that in East Boston, those who can always come back to see the Tall Ships.
“Many of our friends and family who no longer live in East Boston are making sure they get here today.”
For Dave O’Donnell, vice president of strategic communications at MeetBoston whose team has been working with Sail Boston for the past two years, there was a lot of generational longevity to this event.
"In 2016, when we had our last Tall Ships event, when Executive Director of Sail Boston Dusty Rhodes declared at the time that ‘we will back in 2026’ and here we are.
This is a multi-generational event, and it is a wonderful free event for families," O'Donnell said.
"Also, for our organization this has been amazing with both the World Cup and the Tall Ships here.
We know Boston as an international city, but it is great that we have truly had the world visiting us this summer and they are really enjoying all that we have to offer."
The Grand Parade of Sails featured not only the majestic 375-foot-long vessels from around the world, but Sail Boston marked the 250 th anniversary by inviting the many smaller replica and original schooners that have been so vital to our maritime history including the famous Grand Banks replica schooner Bluenose Two of Nova Scotia, Canada, the Spirit of Bermuda as well as the Schooner Adventure out of Gloucester, Mass to name a few.
For Carrie Martin of Gloucester who is a volunteer on the schooner Adventure, her proudest moment today is that her nephew is on board the Adventure in the parade as a member of the crew.
"We have young students in our city who volunteer on schooner Adventure, and it has been an excellent program.
Students realize that the upkeep of it takes work and discipline as it does with all these ships,” Martin said “There is an opportunity that comes with all that challenging work, and it offers young people roots and grounding and appreciation for those who came before them.
They need history, too.
“I love that people are out here today without screens and getting exposure to the world as the international fleet sails past.”
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