Click the image above to watch…
“To celebrate America’s 250th birthday on July 4, 2026, the largest fleet of the world’s most magnificent tall ships and gray hull ships will sail into New York Harbor, pass in Presidential review, and salute the Statue of Liberty.”
When my daughter saw that this was happening, we both got super excited! We live about 2 hours drive from Sandy Hook, NJ (not the famous one), and tall ships have captured my attention since forever. I immediately scored us some tickets for an hour-long ferry boat cruise out of Atlantic Highlands into the bay, to be right there in the water, cruising in an around really a lot of gorgeous, tall sailing ships. I even started shopping for a good pair of binoculars to replace the ones lost in the fire.
Then when I started looking into the traffic situation, the crowds, the amount of time spent away from our (still living) elder kitty…anxiety about the outing set in. My dreams of doing something fun, and once-in-a-lifetime awesome…they died on the spot. Even when Nova’s body gave out…our grief kept this dream well off the radar. And honestly, even now…we don’t really love leaving home for very long. Our ferry tickets are non-refundable, but we might be able to exchange them for a date some time later this year. It’s fine…
…because there was lots of coverage of this most amazing event celebrating America’s 250th birthday, and it was dangerously hot out there, anyway. I’m trusting that the journey was actually better left in imagination for us. This way, we got the JUMBOtron effect in good old, American, air-conditioned comfort.
The sail4th.org website has a page dedicated to the many inspiring and stunning tall-ships that are now anchored not 50 miles from me, as the crow flies, ready for the parade on Saturday. sail4th.org/tall-ships
I reckon this is what Friday’s cruise would have been like…
Click the image above to watch…
Sail4th250 Begins Now: The Return of the Tall Ships
Coverage of the parade of tall ships starts at 7:00 a.m. on Saturday, July 4, 2026
NBC will utilize dozens of cameras to capture the grand spectacle. Cameras will be positioned along both sides of the Hudson River, at iconic New York landmarks and on several ships. Aerial footage will also be provided via drones, the NBC New York helicopter and a blimp.
https://tinyurl.com/2rysdj7m
