Events
Many visitors are seeking out vessels that have a connection to their own history and heritage.
The Bluenose II, from Canada, is seen sailing into the harbor during the Sail Boston 2026 Parade of Sail at Castle Island in Boston on Saturday. Christian Kantosky for The Boston Globe
One of the key takeaways from the ongoing Sail Boston 250 festival is that 12 out of the nearly 60 visiting vessels in port are taking charter passengers out to sail and view the Tall Ships from the water. And along with the smaller Tall Ships out sailing, there are many that are available for deck tours that carry ties and connections with Boston that go back centuries.
With 53 percent of the Tall Ships visiting Boston identified as schooners, the flagship of Nova Scotia, Canada, the 143-foot Bluenose II, has been popular with Bostonians. Not only does the city receive a Christmas tree every year from the province as a way of thanking them for their help during the Halifax explosion of 1918, but also, as Captain Phil Watson of the Bluenose II says, many Nova Scotians settled in the Boston area generations ago.
“I always heard that one in four Bostonians had family in Nova Scotia when I was growing up. This week, I have been meeting hundreds of visitors who came here to talk about their own ties to the Maritime Provinces of Canada,” said Watson, of Lunenberg, Nova Scotia, who has been the captain of the Bluenose since 2001.
“There are people coming here, or seeking us out, and they want to talk about their connection. Many had great grandparents who came here to Boston,” he said. “They just want to come and see us and tell us about themselves, and we are so happy to be here and hear their stories and revive that connection that have to our home.”
The Canadians who sailed into Boston are equally glad to be amongst friends, marking the first time the Bluenose II has sailed outside of Canada since the pandemic. For operational reasons, this trip is especially important as it gives the crew a chance to do some real sailing and sail training.
On board the 118-foot sloop Spirit of Bermuda nearby, the captain and crew noted that there is also a clear kindred spirit between New England and Bermuda. The Spirit of Bermuda has a lot of longevity on board amongst the crew, and they visit New England as often as they can.
“I was an 18-year-old in 2007 when I sailed into Boston for the first time on the Spirt of Bermuda,” said Tristan da Silva, who is the vessel’s first officer. “Back then, when we reached Boston a cannon was fired and it echoed through the whole city. Being here for the Sail Boston 250 has been super special for us.”
The Spirit of Bermuda is a replica of the traditional Bermuda sloop design; in past centuries, Bermuda sloops traditionally sailed from the East Coast of the U.S. to the Caribbean and back to Bermuda.
For Arthur Reed of Abington, Mass., a volunteer for Sail Boston and a member of the Pelagic Sailing Club, he specifically wanted to be assigned to the Spirit of Bermuda because of his long connection to the island. “There is something special about people who love sailing on schooners and vessels like these,” he said. “They love what they are doing, and they are so enthusiastic about them.”
Walter Beebe-Center of Waltham was aboard the 42- foot Alden schooner Malabar X during the Grand Parade of Sail. The Malabar X is a 1922 John Alden schooner that won the Newport Bermuda race in 1930 and 1932. It was the escort for the German Tall Ship Gorch Fock, along with the John Alden-designed schooner When and If and the Schooner Bowdoin. John Alden (1884–1962) was a Boston-based naval architect who lived in Dorchester and designed many legendary, fast schooners during his lengthy career.
Germany’s Gorch Fock, the USCG Eagle, and Portugal’s Sagres at the Five Sisters race off Provincetown last month. – David L Ryan/Globe Staff
During the ongoing Sail Boston 250 festival, several of the vessels in port are available to take visitors out sailing and are a little less crowded on deck, so there is more time to talk to captain and crew.
“I am on the schooner daily, and getting out there on a sailing vessel is a real step back in time. We make our way up the harbor and then follow the route with other schooners, commercial ferries, and pleasure craft,” said Captain Eric Turner, who is captain of the schooner Adirondeck II and III operated at Rowes Wharf by Classic Harbor Line. “It is highly organized and we follow a loop and traffic on the water.
“Seeing the Tall Ships from the water is an elevated experience,” he continued. “Of course, when we are underway and see another schooner going in the same direction, in our minds it immediately becomes a race.”
“We’re built like an old Gloucester fishing schooner, so having us tied up near these tall ships this week feels kind of like a family reunion,” said Heath Ellis, captain of the Schooner Thomas E. Lannon, which is available for charter. “Different rigs, different flags, but everybody out there for the same reason. The wind still works, same as it always has.”
Whether it’s to get out on a schooner or just walk along the waterfront, Sail Boston 250 is drawing sailors, ship aficionados, and everyday people — looking, perhaps, to connect to a certain ship from where their own families originally came.
“Everywhere we turn this week, we see people falling in love with these ships and this city. From Charlestown to South Boston and everywhere in between, the city is buzzing with visitors from around the world,” said Dusty Rhodes, executive director of Sail Boston and the president of Conventures, Inc.
“And whether it is atop decks of ships or the tables in our restaurants, there is an incredible feeling of international goodwill, hospitality, and friendship,” he said. “We encourage everyone to visit our great harbor.”
David Streit holds his son Anton over his shoulders, as they watch the Gorch Fock pass by Long Wharf during Sail Boston on July 11, 2026. Streit’s family moved to Boston from Germany this past spring. – Meleck Eldahshoury for The Boston Globe
Sign up for the Today newsletter
Get everything you need to know to start your day, delivered right to your inbox every morning.
