Updated

Updated · WLS-TV · Jul 4

Class B Tall Ships Parade Down East River From 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Before Saturday Fleet Event

Updated

Updated · WLS-TV · Jul 4

Class B Tall Ships Parade Down East River From 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Before Saturday Fleet Event

Q: Beyond today's parade, where can you get up close with the historic tall ships from 55 nations before they depart?

You can get up close to the tall ships during the free public visiting period from July 5 through July 7, before they depart on July 8. They will be docked at several public sites around the region, including South Street Seaport and Pier 17 in Lower Manhattan, Brooklyn Bridge Park, the Intrepid Museum and Manhattan Cruise Terminal area in “Sail City,” and Stapleton Park’s Homeport Pier on Staten Island. Additional access is also available at Pier 15, where Pride of Baltimore II is scheduled to be berthed. Tours are generally scheduled from noon to 6 p.m. each day and are free, but reservations are strongly recommended because demand is high and some time slots may sell out. Visitors typically need a separate reservation for each pier or ship location they want to visit. There are also boarding rules to keep in mind: children under 5 are not allowed on the ships, strollers are not permitted onboard, and closed-toe shoes are required.

Q: What is the story behind the 'Five Sisters Cup,' the historic ship race that follows the New York festivities?

The “Five Sisters Cup” is the informal name for the International Perpetual Challenge Cup, a rare tall-ship race from New York to Boston that revives a maritime tradition dating to the U.S. bicentennial in 1976. Its name comes from a family of five near-identical Class A training ships built to the same 1930s design. Four of the five surviving vessels are racing after the New York Sail4th 250 celebrations: the U.S. Coast Guard’s Eagle, Portugal’s Sagres, Romania’s Mircea and Germany’s Gorch Fock. They depart New York Harbor on July 8, immediately after the week of parades, reviews and public ship visits tied to America’s 250th anniversary. The race is historic because it reunites sister ships that rarely compete head-to-head. The prize is a Tiffany-made trophy, and Germany’s Gorch Fock has held it since the inaugural 1976 contest. Organizers describe this year’s event as the first time the race has been staged since the bicentennial era, giving it added symbolic weight as a sequel to the New York festivities. In practical terms, the race serves as the closing chapter of the harbor celebration: after the East River and Hudson River parades bring the ships before millions of spectators in New York, the Five Sisters Cup sends the best-known of those classic sail-training vessels onward in open-water competition to Boston.

3 articles · Updated · WLS-TV · Jul 4

Class B tall ships are sailing the East River from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, starting at the Hell Gate Bridge in Astoria, Queens.
South Street Seaport is the key midpoint, where the ships will pause for a review before continuing to Gravesend Bay in Brooklyn.
Gravesend Bay will serve as the anchorage after the parade, positioning the vessels to join the larger Parade of Tall Ships on Saturday.
East River Esplanade, Carl Schurz Park and South Street Seaport are recommended viewing spots, and no screening is required for Friday's parade.