OpSail 2000 made its first New England stop July 12-15 in New London and Groton, Connecticut. If you missed this opportunity to view the majestic tall ships from around the world, you'll have one last opportunity when the final OpSail event is held in Portland, Maine, July 28-31, 2000.
After that, you'll have to wait another eight years for OpSail to return to the East Coast. Or, you'll have to settle for visiting the tall ships virtually with the images I've captured in the Tall Ships Photo Gallery (see links below). OpSail was founded in 1961 by President John F. Kennedy, and there have since been five OpSails: 1964 at the NY World's Fair, 1976 for the U.S. Bicentennial, 1986 for the Statue of Liberty Rededication, 1992 for the Columbus Quincentennial, and this year's Millennium edition. Only Congress can approve an OpSail, and the next one is scheduled for the West Coast in 2004. The next East Coast OpSail will be held in 2008.
"The wind brings the world" was the theme of the Connecticut event, which featured 41 tall ships. Unfortunately, Bruce and I weren't able to blow into Groton until Friday evening, so we missed Wednesday's Parade of Sail, which provided the very best opportunity to see the ships with sails unfurled and on display. We did, however, get a glimpse of the boats illuminated at night as we drove along I-95 to his brother's family's house, which we were fortunately able to use as our tall ships home base.
Bruce, his brother, and I paid an early morning call on the tall ships that remained in port at State Pier and City Pier in New London on Saturday morning in order to give you a glimpse of what you missed if you didn't fight the crowds and traffic that OpSail attracted to the Connecticut shore. Though the morning was overcast, the ships we saw, from Chile, Colombia, the Ukraine, Brazil, and the U.S., were impressive in their size and seaworthiness. Though rain threatened all day, it didn't make good on those threats until just before the evening's extravagant fireworks display, which we watched from the town beach in Groton huddled under umbrellas. On Sunday morning, as the ships departed, we were able to get an even better glimpse at their prowess in navigating the open sea.
Start your virtual tour of the tall ships with this image of the Esmerelda, the pride of the Chilean Navy, and then return here to see all of my OpSail photos.
Tall Ships Photo Gallery
Chile
Esmerelda: Pride of the Chilean Navy
Esmerelda: A Long Way from Home
Esmerelda: Andes Condor Figurehead
Colombia
Glorious Gloria
Ukraine
Bat Boat
Introducing the World to the New Ukraine
Brazil
Cisne Branco: White Swan
U.S.A.
The Eagle Has Landed
