Wind Machines
Tall Ships Portland 2015 is this weekend in the city. Yesterday, ten of thousands of viewers hugged the coastline at Bug Light, Spring Point Light, Willard Beach, Fort Williams, Portland Headlight and the wharfs off Commercial Street, along with big crowds covering the lawn and roadways of Eastern Prom to watch the ships come in. The ships on display and ready for guests the next two days are: USCG Eagle, Bowdoin, Lynx, Tree of Life, El Galeon Andalucia, Oliver Hazard Perry, Bagheera, Wendameen, Frances, Fritha, Alert, and Picton Castle. I was at Bug Light in the afternoon to view the 'parade of ships'. The day wasn't perfect, rain in the morning, quite a bit of wind and cloud cover that logged in for the the entire day. Disappointed? Not really with the weather, but something I didn't expect was that most of the ships cruised in not under sail. I'm not a sailor so I really don't know why, but I must say I was a bit disheartened to see pretty much mostly the skeletons of masts as the ships sailed around Spring Point Light and into the inner harbor.
After the parade, the sitting in stalled traffic wasn't uplifting either.
They say over 100,000 people will view Tall Ships through Monday.
I've done my part.
Sail on!
*Pictured here is The Bowdoin.
Lost your email address. Yes, the girls have a fan in the run-in by their stalls. Fortunately there is a little breeze this morning, as we head for a day that feels like 100.
ReplyDeleteHow fun! I would love to see that.
ReplyDeleteI'd of loved to see that. I think the dirty little secret of large sailing ships is that they don't use them very much.
ReplyDeleteQuite a ship!
ReplyDeleteI remember the first of the Tall Ships parades back in the 1970s. I worked on the top floor of a Boston high-rise building, and could watch the ships sail into Boston Harbor under full sail. It was glorious. Haven't seen them in decades. Yes, seeing the ships with sails wrapped up would have been a disappointment, but just to see them at all must have been quite an occasion.
ReplyDeleteCool! And L'Hermione is now sailing in Canadian waters...
ReplyDeleteThat must have been a bit disappointing but still fun to see them! Traffic is no fun though.
ReplyDeleteMy only feeling is envy...
ReplyDeleteYes the sails do add character!
ReplyDeleteAnd colour!
ReplyDeleteToo bad! Tall ships without their sails seem like just another fleet of ships...
ReplyDelete(To answer your question, a bouquet of U-pick lavender typically runs around $5 for a fat-fisted handful.)
I've seen these in the port of Duluth, MN and they are very impressive. I understand why people crowd to see them.
ReplyDeleteIt's pure delight to see Tall Ships!
ReplyDeleteI saw them from Willard Beach one time, full sails, so close, so magnificent. I don't know how I would have dealt with the traffic this year...Love seeing that Portland in your photo & hearing about your experience.
ReplyDeleteA tall ship can be tricky to sail into a harbor under sail. Not much room for maneuvering when 1,000s of square feet of sail must come down all at once. Much safer under power. They are still great to see moving in the water.
ReplyDeleteLucky you to see these ships, with or without sail! One of the top highlights of my life was helping to crew on the Schooner American Eagle in Maine waters back in the late 90s. My Maine friend was a deck hand every summer and she got me on board, and I am forever grateful to Michelle.
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