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Here are the best places to watch the parade
By Bryan Hecht, Globe correspondent
There are many ways to view the tall ships parade on Saturday. You can picnic at a waterfront park, follow the Harborwalk around the city’s edge, or splurge for luxury seating and brunch at terraces across Downtown.
But many of the best options are completely free and easily accessible from public transportation. Saturday’s main event, the Meet Boston Parade of Sail, runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., but inner harbor spectators shouldn’t expect to see ships until about 10:15 a.m. Here are all the free areas where you can catch a glimpse:
The USS Constitution sails into Boston Harbor from Charlestown.John Tlumacki/Globe Staff
A special time with the grandkids — 9:14 a.m.
By Thai Theodoro, Globe correspondent
At the Massport Marine Terminal on Fid Kennedy Avenue, spectators raised binoculars toward the harbor as the water jets from the Fire Fighter — a fireboat built in 1938 — signaled the start of the Parade of Sail.
Moments later, the USS Constitution led the procession of tall ships into Boston Harbor.
Denise Paoni, 68, of Boston, came to watch with her children and grandchildren as part of an early birthday celebration.
“What I’m looking forward to is seeing the Amerigo Vespucci ship come in from Italy and all the ships really!,” Paoni said.
For Paoni, the event is especially meaningful because she attended the last Sail Boston in 2017.
Now, she said, she’s excited to share the experience with her grandchildren, some of whom were not yet born when the ships last sailed into the city.
“We’re going to come back during the week and do some touring of the ships,” Paoni said.
Among the first sightings
The Liberty Clipper schooner heads out into Boston Harbor from Charlestown as people look on from LoPresti Park in East Boston.John Tlumacki/Globe Staff
A tall ship sails by East Boston — 9:12 a.m.
By Jaden Perry, Globe correspondent
Tall ships are drifting into Boston Harbor. Before the heat gets too unbearable, visitors are finding their spots on the ledge in Piers Park, their feet dangling over.
A hot dog vendor rings a bell to catch the attention of early guests. Stickers that read “Shippin’ into East Boston” are being distributed. Sweet Italian ice is dished out before the main event.
People are starting to pack Piers Park, hauling bags and lawn chairs onto the dewey grass amid a salty smelling breeze.
From ‘under the weather’ to ‘scuttlebutt’: The sailing phrases you’ll hear at Sail Boston 250 — 8:00 a.m.
By Laurie Fullerton, Globe correspondent
Along the way, you’ll likely hear plenty of nautical terms — and more than a few expressions you already use without realizing they began at sea.
Feeling under the weather. A project that’s dead in the water. Some office scuttlebutt. Being in the doldrums or back on an even keel. Even waiting until the sun is over the yardarm before celebrating with a drink. All of these phrases trace their roots to life aboard sailing ships.
“Dead in the water is a terrible place to be on the ocean, with no wind and going nowhere, and on land it means much the same, a plan or design that has no chance of succeeding or moving ahead,” said Eric Jay Dolin, local author of the bestselling book “Wreck of the Mentor.”
Here’s what you need to know about parking — 7:30 a.m.
By Madyline Swearing, Globe correspondent
Visitors can view and tour the ships along the waterfront throughout the week, but the event’s highlight is the Parade of Sail on Saturday, when the majestic ships sail into the harbor. City officials and organizers urge visitors to use public transportation or walk.
City officials say road closures and parking restrictions will be in effect on the following streets in South Boston, Charlestown, East Boston, the North End, and Seaport throughout Saturday.
Life aboard the Romanian Mircea, headed to Boston’s tall ships celebration — 7:15 a.m.
By Brian MacQuarrie and Stan Grossfeld, Globe staff
The wind finally had freshened to a sail-swelling 17 m.p.h. Thursday when a Romanian training officer pumped his fists, paced the deck, and exhorted dozens of naval cadets in a sharp, staccato voice to do what doesn’t come naturally to most people.
Climb high into the rigging of a tall ship. Shuffle along a spar more than 100 feet above deck and untie a furled sail. Do all this while rolling on the open ocean and standing only on a thin cable. But don’t worry, there’s a buckle for the spar.
“Be strong!” urged Stefan Scutelnicu, the Mircea’s senior sail-training officer.
“Hoo-rah! Hoo-rah! Hoo-rah!” the young cadets shouted before applauding and clambering aloft to masts that rise 144 feet over the scrubbed wooden deck.
Before the start of the Five Sisters Race, Romanian cadets aboard the Mircea hoist the sails. Denisa Dumitru hoists the sails.Stan Grossfeld/Globe Staff
And strong they were, climbing and working with a purposeful, fearless precision that smacked of age-old sailing choreography.
Dropping the Mircea’s sails was the pulsating prelude to a long race that began later Thursday among four “sister ships” that are headed to Boston for the tall ships celebration beginning Saturday.
The crew of the three-masted Mircea, the Black Sea-based training vessel of the Romanian Naval Academy, eagerly awaited the sprint north along Cape Cod from far south of Nantucket.
The “four sisters” also include the US Coast Guard training vessel Eagle, the Sagres from Portugal, and the Gorch Fock from Germany, all built in the 1930s in the same shipyard in Hamburg, Germany.
Sunset at the start of the Five Sisters Race aboard the Romanian Tall Ship Mircea.Stan Grossfeld/Globe Staff
50 tall ships will sail through Boston Harbor this weekend. Here is the history behind 7. — 7:10 a.m.
By Ariela Lopez, Globe correspondent
Fifty tall ships from around the world will sail through Boston Harbor on Saturday for Sail250, a maritime celebration of America’s semiquincentennial.
The vessels will then head to their assigned berths along Boston Harbor, where most will open to guests before departing the morning of July 16. The event is expected to draw millions of visitors.
Boston’s own USS Constitution, usually stationed in Charlestown, is the Parade of Sail’s oldest ship. Known as “Old Ironsides,” the vessel was built in 1797 and is the world’s oldest commissioned warship still afloat.
From a 19th-century British merchantman to a former floating prison, here are seven other ships to keep an eye out for in Boston Harbor.
Tall ships in New York before their finale in Boston Harbor
Boston Harbor is about to fill with tall ships for the finale of the SAIL 250 celebration, here’s a sneak peak from New York. (Photo by Yuki Iwamura/AP, Video by Kelly Broder and Nikhil Mehta/Globe Staff, Stan Grossfeld)
Boston Harbor is about to fill with more than 50 tall ships from 21 countries — 7:00 a.m.
By Thai Theodoro, Globe correspondent
Boston isn’t letting the holiday festivities sail away just yet. From July 11-16, the city is set to welcome more than 50 tall ships from 21 countries as it prepares to host Sail Boston, the grand finale of the nationwide Sail250 celebration.
The free, family-friendly event marks Boston’s role in commemorating the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States through Sail250, which will “bring in dozens of the most stunning, beautiful vessels from around the world, connecting our city to our heritage of seafaring,” Mayor Michelle Wu said during a press event Monday.
City leaders hosted one final preview on Monday to showcase plans for Sail Boston 2026.
“Massachusetts is excited to welcome the tall ships and the military vessels that will arrive and have already started arriving from around the world this week,” said Kate Fox, executive director of the Massachusetts Office of Travel & Tourism. “One of the world’s great maritime gatherings, Sail Boston will bring together history, culture, education, and international friendship in a way few events can.”
The event also marks the return of the tall ships to Boston for the first time since 2017. Dusty Rhodes, executive director of Sail Boston, said bringing the festival back to the city has been seven years in the making.
Before the start of the Five Sisters Race, the German Tall Ship Gorch Folk heads in formation towards the starting line.Stan Grossfeld/Globe Staff
