Lookin’ good from the top of the bridge
Posted by Erin on July 10, 2012
Pride of Baltimore II sails toward the Newport Bridge during the Parade of Sail
Last night at the wonderful volunteer thank you party, sponsored by Newport Grand, there were smiles all around on tired, tan faces. As volunteers, ship liaisons, and port organizers were basking in the glow of a job well done, we couldn’t help but reflect on how quickly the time went from that first volunteer training session so many weeks ago. An event of this size demands a large volunteer contingent and Newport came through in spades. All the applause, compliments and praise was well deserved.
I was still getting my land legs back after spending the afternoon on the water as part of the Parade Command, taking direction and advising Patti on the Newport Bridge of what was happening out on the harbor. Jennifer and I were having the time of our lives surrounded by the ships and taking photos. It was a perfect way to end the Ocean State Tall Ships(r) festival.
Heading out the muster point prior to the Parade
One of the several perks of being part of the parade control is that you can listen to all the chatter on the radio, it is always entertaining. The funniest thing we heard while on the water was when we were waiting for ships to get to the muster area out by Castle Hill. Patti was doing a radio check and checking in with each ship individually. We couldn’t raise HMS Bounty on the radio at first during the staging process. After one attempt, an escort boat chimes in, “Maybe there was a mutiny on board”. You could hear the laughter across the water.
Bowdoin and Picton Castle head up to the turn around south of Gould Island
The weather gods were with us yesterday for the Parade of Sail, there was a light wind to fill the sails, the sky was blue and the light was perfect. Our intrepid photographer Jennifer shot over 400 photos during our three hours on the water. Newport Harbor seemed to have been beamed back in time as these square riggers majestically made their way up the East Passage, under the Newport Bridge, and up to Gould Island then out to sea. We were right in the middle of everything, waving goodbye to tall ship friends. Our summer intern Deborah was all smiles as she hauled away on lines aboard Unicorn, her ship of choice for the sail up to Halifax, and Jennifer’s daughter looked thrilled to be part of the Pride of Baltimore II crew.
Fair winds, Deborah!
Being out the water was the perfect end to the Ocean State Tall Ships(R) festival. It is so hard to believe that our final host port of Halifax is coming up next week. We have the ships doing a sprint out of Newport and then along the coast of Nova Scotia into Halifax Harbor where awards will be handed out at the crew party (our last one of the season, sniff!). Halifax always does a wonderful job with their events and we are so lucky to be able to work so many talented people all throughout the summer. Be sure to check out Jennifer’s photos on Flickr Fair Winds TALL SHIPS CHALLENGE(r) fleet – See you in Halifax!
Thumbs up from Captain Trost of Pride of Balitmore II
Michele Rowe said
Hi! We are departing on a Disney cruise this Sunday, July 15, out of NYC and heading north to Halifax and St. John’s, NB. What are the chances we will see tall ships along the way. We will be in port at Halifax on the 17th.
Michele Rowe
Simsbury, CT
Erin said
Hi Michele,
There is a pretty good chance you could see some ships as you arrive into Halifax. The ships are scheduled to arrive in port on the Thursday so you might see some along the coast or outside of the Harbor as you arrive/depart Halifax. Otherwise, I would reccommend keeping a pair of binoculars handy!
Happy Hunting!
Erin S.
TALL SHIPS CHALLENGE(r) Coordinator
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