Enter to win the Ultimate Tall Ships (r) Nova Scotia Adventure Contest

I’ve been to Halifax, Nova Scotia several times now with the tall ships and each time I go, I am swept up in the maritime history there. Haligonians are so proud of their nautical roots which is why the tall ships events there are always such a blast.  I’ve written about my experiences here and here.

Now is your chance to experience the tall ships in Halifax. By entering the Ultimate Tall Ships(r) Nova Scotia Adventure contest, you could win a free trip to Halifax! Read on to learn more-

Don’t Miss The Ultimate Tall Ships(r) Nova Scotia Adventure contest – your chance to win a trip to bring your friends and family home this July. Enter the Facebook contest by sending a digital message in a bottle to your friends and family. 

The Grand Prize is a trip for 4 to Halifax for the Tall Ships(r) Nova Scotia event, including airfare, hotel stay at Halifax Harbourfront Marriott, Avis car rental and a Gift Certificate from RCR. There are also Instant Win prizes that will be randomly awarded that feature packages to the outports.

Tall Ships(r) Nova Scotia is going to showcase the best of Nova Scotia through film, art, music, food and history. The event will begin in Halifax July 19th – 23rd, and then the ships will sail to Lunenburg, Shelburne, Port Hawkesbury, Pictou and Pugwash July 25th – 29th.

Click on the link below to enter … Now!

https://www.facebook.com/myWaterfront/app_144371285680962

Is all of Long Island in Greenport?

Day two of the Greenport TALL SHIPS CHALLENGE(r) festival is well underway and we have a line of eager visitors stretched around Mitchell Park Marina. The decks are practically humming with the feet of all the people as they tour the vessels.  Crowds as far as the eye can see. It is a busy day out on the harbor with Roseway doing day sails.  She leaves tonight to head back up to Boston for another program and the harbor will seem so empty without those distinctive red sails.

Summer is here!

The fog burned off this morning just in time for the kickoff to the Greenport Tall Ships (R) Festival. All of our ships are here and the waterfront is packed with people.  It looks as though the entire village of Greenport has turned out to tour the ships.

Bert Rogers introduces the captains during the Opening Ceremony

Pea Soup

 

Unicorn and Bounty

 

 

 

 

Unicorn, Bounty, and Lynx

 

 

And one last video from Savannah…

Tomorrow, the ships begin arriving in Greenport, New York and the second TALL SHIPS CHALLENGE(r) port festival will kick off on Saturday with ship tours and continue over Memorial Day Weekend (May 26-28).

It was a long three weeks that we had to wait for our friends to join us up here on the North Fork of Long Island, but it is worth the wait since we have a great fleet – Lynx, Pride of Baltimore II, Picton Castle, HMS Bounty, Roseway, and two new additions,  Summerwind and Unicorn.

But before the ships arrive, here is one last video reminding us of how good a time we had in Savannah, and how much we are looking forward to the rest of our summer events in Greenport, Newport (RI) and Halifax (NS).

Thank you, Cosmos Mariner Productions!

Feeding and Caring of the Ships

ALLIANCE

One of the many aspects that goes into a successful tall ship event is the ship liaison program. A ship liaison is kind of like a local handler for a tall ship, someone who knows where to find anything a ship might need, or at least knows who to call. A ship is an out of town guest and the liaison is there to show the best their city has to offer. It’s a tough job but immensely fulfilling since the liaison becomes a part of the crew for the ships stay in port. They arrive for breakfast and they remain on board until dinner, ensuring that everything from the event side runs smoothly.  It is a lot of work but the relationships that are formed can last for years.

This year in Savannah, we had a wonderfully talented and diverse group of local liaisons. I immediately bonded with the hilarious Janet McCrary, co-owner of Wiley’s Championship BBQ, who was assigned to lucky Alliance. Feeding and caring of tall ships is a tall order and, based on the smile on Janet’s face throughout the festival, one that was thoroughly enjoyed. In fact, Janet had such a great time, she made a slideshow about her experience.

Meanwhile, becalmed just short of the finish line of the first race,  Pride of Baltimore II wrote about their stellar liaisons on their blog.

Next week, the ships arrive in Greenport, NY and there is a fresh batch of eager, enthusiastic liaisons just waiting for their ships to arrive.

Beatles and Spears

One of the perks of having a foreign naval vessel as part of the TALL SHIPS CHALLENGE(r)  fleet is the invite to a reception. While in Savannah, the Tall Ships America team was graciously invited to a small reception on the Indonesian  naval vessel Dewaruci. Local Indonesians, friends, and family, had been cooking all day so, with an ice-cold Bintang beer in hand, Jennifer and I ventured over to sample the offerings. I had never eaten Indonesian food before and decided that I would try everything, even the brown hardboiled eggs. Needless to say, everything was delicious (the brown eggs had actually been marinated in nutmeg, cinnamon, sugar and various FDA approved spices). As we chatted with the officers and very earnest cadets, it was shaping up to be a low key evening. And then, this happened –

One Down, Three to Go

The coolest shot of the day. That’s a ray leaping with one of the French ships in the background

As the  TALL SHIPS CHALLENGE(r) team readjusts to life in the cold North (rainy and in the 50′s for the past week. Re-entry was harsh), the vessels are heading up the coast and will meet us in Greenport for their Memorial Day Weekend event (24-28 May). The race from Savannah to Cape Fear has concluded and the ever-vigilant Captain Trost is speedily working out the results. Because all of these ships have different rigs and are different sizes, we have special handicap ratings for each vessel to make it a bit more fair. It was a tough race with the wind coming out of the northeast as the ships tried to make their way north. Two ships had to retire from the race early, while others never made it past the start line in the time limit allotted. Regardless, we race on! Fingers crossed for more favorable conditions for our race out of Greenport.

Guest Blogger: Slow Racing Day after a Night of Thrashing to Windward

Tall Ships Challenge Race #1 – Savannah to Cape Fear.

PRIDE got off to a Weatherly advantage at the start of the first Tall Ships Challenge race for 2012. But that does not mean it was a comfortable experience. 15-20 knot conditions on the bow after such winds have been blowing for 24 hours is not a lot of fun. Heavy weight to setting and trimming sails. Significant sea swell of 6 odd feet to bash against. Significant angle of heel for everyone to stumble over with a leaping PRIDE along with spray on deck and some down below because a hatch was carefully left open for ventilation…forgetting that water could also go down it. Some bunks got wet. Still good for sleeping in though after a very physical time of it on deck.

Keep reading about the race from the decks of the Pride of Baltimore II

Note: The Race Team has arrived back home today so stay tuned this week for updates on the last day of the TALL SHIPS CHALLENGE (R) Savannah festival and the very rainy Parade of Sail , with photos and vide0s!

Rocking the River Street

The first day of the Savannah TALL SHIPS CHALLENGE(r) is officially over (as of five minutes ago) and we have hit our stride. The first day we shake out any issues and by the second day, it’s smoooooth sailing. Here are a few photos from the event today-

New recruits

We had a group of Montessori kids tour the vessels and they were very impressed with the rigging and mast on Bounty.