Overview
- On Wednesday, May 20 organizers released a roster showing more than 50 ships from 21 nations will visit Boston from July 11–16, including 22 Class A vessels and flagships such as Portugal’s Sagres, Argentina’s ARA Libertad, Chile’s Esmeralda, the U.S. Coast Guard’s Eagle, Elissa and the USS Constitution.
- The parade of sail is scheduled to arrive Saturday, July 11, and participating vessels are expected to remain in Boston Harbor for about a week for visits and events.
- Conventures began recruiting ships roughly eight years ago under Dusty Rhodes and says the scale of the lineup makes this likely the largest regatta Boston has hosted.
- Organizers have planned free public programming including fireworks at Fan Pier, a downtown parade and a sailors’ soccer tournament, and they say visitors will be able to go aboard many ships to meet crews and learn about their vessels and cultures.
- Sail Boston is one stop in a larger semicentennial coastal procession that starts in New Orleans and moves north to Boston, and the harbor’s narrow channels and local hospitality are expected to shape viewing, crowding and tourism impacts during the weeklong visit.