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Tall Ships sail into Philly for five-day festival

A fleet of eleven masted wooden vessels made their way Thursday up the Delaware River for this weekend's for Sail Philadelphia 2018 - a five-day festival celebrating the city's maritime history.

Tall ships sail through the waters of the Delaware River during the Parade of Sails at Penn’s Landing, Philadelphia.
Tall ships sail through the waters of the Delaware River during the Parade of Sails at Penn’s Landing, Philadelphia.Read moreJOSE F. MORENO / Staff Photographer

A fleet of 11 masted wooden vessels made their way Thursday up the Delaware River under the DRPA's majestic bridges for this weekend's for Sail Philadelphia 2018 — a five-day festival celebrating the city's maritime history.

The festival offers nautical-themed programming and experiences, including landside views of the ships, tours, and sail-away cruises on the Delaware.

Visitors will be able to tour the Oliver Hazard Perry, out of Newport, R.I., the first oceangoing full-rigged ship built in the United States in 110 years; the Sagres, one of the international ships at the festival, which sailed from Lisbon; the Spirit of Bermuda, a training vessel modeled after the schooners constructed on the island during the 19th century; and the Lynx, based in Portsmouth, N.H., a topsail schooner modeled after a naval schooner from the War of 1812.

These vessels will make tours on the Delaware available: A.J. Meerwald, New Jersey's official tall ship, docked in Gloucester City; North Wind, which provides underserved students with an education outside traditional classrooms (it's also docked in Gloucester City); America 2.0, sailing from New York, built by Scarano Boat Building; When and If, also docked in New York, a schooner commissioned in 1939 by then-Col. George S. Patton; and the Thomas E. Lannon, a family-owned schooner based in Gloucester, Mass., that focuses on preserving the local fishing industry and the history of schooners.

On land, it's all about the maritime festival, complete with a Ferris wheel, funnel cake, carnival games, beer gardens, and the old-fashioned feel of a waterside celebration.