We Love a Parade (of sail)

An event called Sail San Francisco, sponsored by the Pacific Rim Foundation, began yesterday with a “Parade of Sail” from the Golden Gate to the Bay Bridge – the event runs through the weekend, ending Monday. For anyone who lives in the Bay area this is a unique opportunity to see these beautiful, historical ships under sail…as well as to tour aboard them dockside, join as crew on a day sail, witness the booming battle reenactments, enjoy the history of the San Francisco waterfront, etc. As this article in the SF Chronicle details, ships in the fleet include the 270-foot Mexican barque Cuauhtemoc and the fully rigged, 2,284-ton Russian training ship Pallada. Thirty-two ships and smaller vessels, including diesel-powered-vessels, are to participate in the parade. Vessels range in size from the 30-foot sloop OlÈ to the 442-foot Jeremiah O'Brien, a World War II Liberty ship. The 88-foot scow schooner Alma hailing from the San Francisco Maritime National Historic Park will be the senior ship – 114 years old. I’ve posted on tall ships before and for those who have not seen this sort of thing you will be impressed not only by the beauty of the ships, but also by the thought that our seafaring ancestors actually ventured to new worlds, plied trading routes and made their lives aboard these vessels – as pretty as they are they offer one tenth the comfort of your average modern production cruising sloop.