2023 Sail Portsmouth tall ships festival to take place July 26 to 31

Sail Portsmouth will celebrate the region’s maritime history and Portsmouth’s 400th birthday with its annual tall ship festival in Portsmouth July 26 to 31.

This year’s Sail Portsmouth festival will feature five tall ships and will officially begin with the Parade of Sail and Flotilla on the evening of Thursday, July 27. The tall ships participating this year are the three-masted nao Trinidad, the two-masted schooner Ernestina-Morrissey, the three-masted schooner Denis Sullivan, the topsail schooner Lynx and the schooner Bowdoin.

At 6:15 p.m. on July 27th, the tall ships joined by the Gundalow Piscataqua, Portsmouth’s own tall ship, will begin the parade into Portsmouth Harbor from the mouth of the Piscataqua River. They will be accompanied by a flotilla of vessels, both civilian and commercial fishing boats plus military and municipal craft. The Parade of Sail and Flotilla will end at the Memorial Bridge
where the tall ships will turn around and head to their mooring sites. Two will berth at the Portsmouth Commercial Fishing Pier, which will be the festival’s headquarters for the weekend, just across from Prescott Park. All boaters are invited to join in the Parade of Sail.

New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu will be the Grand Marshal of this year’s Parade of Sail and Flotilla.

New this year, private pleasure and commercial fishing vessels which participate in the Parade of Sail and Flotilla are eligible to win a $1,000 gift certificate from Hamilton Marine. Entry forms will be available at area marinas and at Brewster’s Bait and Tackle in the week before the parade. The entry forms must be turned in at the Hamilton Marine store at 56 U.S. 1 Bypass in
Kittery where the winning coupon will be drawn.

Also new this year, a Blessing of the Fleet will feature members of local clergy located on Four Tree Island blessing the tall ships and all boats as they pass by in the Parade of Sail.

“In celebration of Portsmouth’s 400th anniversary, we wanted to create a Parade of Sail and festival weekend that are truly memorable,” Phil von Hemert, chair of Sail Portsmouth, said. “I cannot remember the last time five tall ships entered our harbor at the same time. This will be spectacular. We’ve also added one more day to tour the ships and take a tall ship day sail this year. Now I just hope everyone can be there to celebrate our city’s long maritime history.”

The two tall ships that will be open to the public for tours at the Portsmouth Commercial Fish Pier are the Trinidad and the Ernestina-Morrissey. They will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday, July 28 to 31. Admission to the festival and tours is $12 for adults. Children under 12 are free. A family ticket is $30 and admits one adult and up to three children ages 13 to 15. Tickets for Sail Portsmouth members, active military and seniors are $10. Tickets for ship tours and the festival venue can be purchased online at https://sailportsmouth.org/events/ and at the gate if still available.

Your ticket, which is good for any time on any of the four days, admits you to the Sail Portsmouth 2023 dockside venue where you can tour exhibitor booths, listen to entertainers, enjoy food available for purchase, and interact with local pirates and period re-enactors. Learn about the history, rig and mission of each visiting ship, and meet sailors from across the seas. You’ll also have the opportunity to learn about Portsmouth’s four centuries of maritime history.

In addition to touring a tall ship, you can also sail on one during the festival. Choose from two-hour ocean sails, a three-hour Parade of Sail ride-in, or sail to Portsmouth from Gloucester, Massachusetts on Wednesday, July 26, all on the Lynx. You can also sail to Boston from Portsmouth on Saturday, July 29 aboard the Denis Sullivan.

The two-hour day sails on the Lynx will take place July 27 to 31, leaving from and returning to the UNH Pier in New Castle. Tickets are $69 and passengers must be at least 6 years old. Parking at the pier is free.

Tickets for the Parade of Sail ride-in on the Lynx are $79. Passengers must be 6 years of age and older, and ambulatory. The sail leaves from the UNH Pier in New Castle at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, July 27 and returns there after the parade.

The one-way sail from Gloucester to Portsmouth on Wednesday, July 26 begins at the Gloucester Maritime Heritage Dock, 23 Harbor Loop, Gloucester, Massachusetts, and ends at the UNH Pier on Sullivan Lane in New Castle. Passengers for the six-hour sail must be 8 years of age and older. Tickets are $110. Passengers can bring a picnic as food is not served on board. No alcoholic beverages allowed.

The one-way sail to Boston on the Denis Sullivan on Saturday, July 29 will take eight hours and leaves at 8 a.m. Passengers must be at least 8 years old. The sail leaves from the UNH Pier in New Castle and arrives at the Moakley Courthouse Dock in Boston. Tickets are $145.

Tickets for all sails should be purchased online in advance at https://sailportsmouth.org/events/.

All net proceeds from the festival go to the Sail Portsmouth Sea Challenge Scholarship Fund to support local high school youth who participate in experiential learning programs at sea on tall ships.

The Piscataqua Maritime Commission, now operating as Sail Portsmouth, is the non-profit organization that presents Portsmouth’s tall ships festival each summer,

The Sail Portsmouth festival is sponsored by these businesses: Appledore Engineering; Beswick Engineering; Black Dog Divers, Crane and Rigging, and Barges; Cambridge Trust; Granite State Minerals; Piscataqua Savings Bank; New England Dock and Deck; Sheraton Portsmouth Harborside Hotel and Seacoast Maritime Charters; and by these organizations: The Chamber Collaborative of Greater Portsmouth, Portsmouth NH 400 and Tall Ships America.