At least 10 “tall ships” are to sail into Pennsylvania’s port for Tall Ships Erie, a celebration of ships set for Sept. 8-11.
The event kicks off that Thursday with a parade of sail into Lake Erie’s Presque Isle Bay and offers visitors tours and short sails on the ships, including the U.S. Brig Niagara, which docks at Erie. Niagara is the third reconstruction of a two-masted, square-rigged ship that helped defeat the British in 1813 in the Battle of Lake Erie, a pivotal event in the War of 1812.
The port festival is part of the larger Tall Ships Challenge Great Lakes, which has a fleet of more than 20 such vessels racing across all five lakes and stopping for celebrations at several U.S. and Canadian cities from July into September.
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Shawn Waskiewicz, executive director of the nonprofit Flagship Niagara League, which maintains the Niagara, says that of the 10 ships that are confirmed for Erie, seven will be boardable for tours and three will be docked at Dobbins Landing for 90-minute cruises. A new ship that also may be participating is the reconstruction of Erie’s schooner, Porcupine, which the Bayfront Maritime Center has been building to launch this summer as a “schoolship.”
In 2013, Tall Ships Erie drew more than 80,000 spectators, raising millions for the local economy and about $350,000 for the Flagship Niagara League.
Tickets go on sale Friday. Passes for Saturday (10 a.m. to 6 p.m.) and Sunday (10 a.m. to 5 p.m.) are $22, or $14 for one of those days, and $8 for just Friday when the fun kicks off at 2:30 p.m. For $100, a weekend VIP pass provides access to a hospitality tent with beer, wine, soda, water and light refreshments, plus lines with shorter wait times to tour and sail on the ships.
It’s all organized under the auspices of Tall Ships America, a Newport, R.I., nonprofit that focuses on youth education, leadership development and the preservation of North America’s maritime heritage. Tall Ships Challenge manager Erin Short says, “We’re really excited for this fleet,” which this year includes the single-sail Viking ship Draken Harald Harfagre (Dragon Herald Fairhair), re-creating Leif Eriksson’s voyage by sailing here from Norway (but not, alas, to Erie). Visitors also will have a chance to sail on Gen. George Patton’s schooner, When and If, arriving from Key West, Fla.
As Ms. Short explains, these ships have their own full-time crews, but they’ll also be carrying private passengers, trainees, summer campers and others as part of their own programming. Between ports, they’ll race — for the Perry Cup, but mostly for bragging rights and the chance to do what these vessels were built to do: cover long distances by harnessing the power of the wind.
For more information, visit tallshipserie.org and sailtraining.org/tallships.
Bob Batz Jr.: bbatz@post-gazette.com, 412-263-1930 and on Twitter @bobbatzjr.
First Published: March 26, 2016, 4:00 a.m.
