5 July 2026: This is a bonus posting to bring you a few images of some of the international fleet of tall ships that showed up for the New York parade of sail celebration in honor of the 250th anniversary of the Independence of the United States yesterday (4th of July). While we did not join the craziness of New York Harbor for the actual parade, we did get out to the craziness of Sandy Hook Bay where the ships had anchored to await the start of the parade. And crazy it was; there was no Coast Guard/police exclusion zones nor any control of the spectator fleet that milled about willy nilly throughout the anchorage. To say that some folks had little idea of safe operation of a vessel would be understatement at least. Add to that that the water was quite choppy and it was just under 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Made getting some pictures a bit challenging,but we prevailed and herewith offer a few snaps of some of the big guys that we saw. We did not get all 40, but the ones we did, were very impressive.
First off, the U.S. Coast Guard host ship, Eagle:
Among the others: 
The spectacular Amerigo Vespucci (Italy)
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| Gloria (Columbia) |
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| Mircea (Romania) |
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| Sagres (Portugal) (on the right) |
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| some of the madness in the anchorage |
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| Gorch Fock (Germany) |
Obviously, there were many more, but these are a few of the best ones. Interestingly, that night about 8PM a squall with winds over 60kts blew through which caught the few remaining sight-seers unawares and tested the anchors of the Class A ships.... no damage reported however.
There you have a peek at some beautiful ships and a heart-felt "happy birthday" to America!
Until next time, stay safe.
Fair Winds.
Old Salt
