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Published: September 27th 2016
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Brockville (Sept 16-18) was the final stop on the circuit that visited 8 ports around the Great Lakes, commencing July 1 (Canada Day) in Toronto. The participating ships and the ports they visit vary from year to year: we visited the ships in Brockville 3 years ago, when about half of them were different.Just what are "tall ships", and why the strange name? They are sailing ships, with as much as 11,000 square feet of sails, that carry passengers or cargo or both, either commercially or for pleasure. The word "tall" refers to the height of their masts, which extend sometimes more than 100 feet (30+ meters) above the water.
From the 15th century onward, relatively small wooden ships powered by the wind transported goods from country to country, and colonists to newly-discovered lands. It's only been about a century and a half since they began to be replaced by increasingly larger ships with engines and screws (propellers) that are the norm today.
Although marine engineering has changed enormously since the age of "iron men in wooden ships", people still wax nostalgic for the days of yore when humans, not computers and machines, were the masters of their own destiny. As Poet Laureate John Masefield wrote in
Sea Fever (1913):
"I must go down to the sea again, to the lonely sea and the sky, and all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by, and the wheel's kick and the Fair Jeanne (FJ) Arrives
This brigantine leads the Parade of Sail, Brockville being its home port. See its details in the next photo, taken from the 'Passports' that served as boarding passes to visit the ships over the two days. wind's song, and the white sails shaking,
and a grey mist on the sea's face and a grey dawn breaking" Wherever there is a significant anniversary celebration in or near ports around the world you'll often find some of the few dozen remaining tall ships. As popular participants they invariably attract thousands of visitors. Tall Ships America now organizes the TALL SHIPS CHALLENGE® annual series of tall ship races and maritime port festivals to celebrate our rich maritime heritage and traditions and to inform the general public about the transformative power of adventure and education under sail.Prominent this year was the race around the Great Lakes ... mostly by American and Canadian vessels, but with an exciting representative from abroad too.
The first of the flotilla's eight stops was in Toronto, and they went as far west as Duluth, Minnesota, finishing at Brockville, Ontario, in the 1000 Islands region of the St Lawrence River. Margo and I were able to visit them there, and although mobility problems made it impossible for us to go aboard this time, we got lots of external photos. In the case of the prime attraction, the Spanish replica El Galeón,
I've supplemented them with a few that we took on board in 2013.
We hope you enjoy our blog as much as we enjoyed the event.
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Rainyb
Lorraine Brecht
Tis fitting!