Sailing ships from around the world will dock July 10-14 in downtown Tampa, Fla., for Sail Tampa Bay 2010.
Ships that will be on hand include the Coast Guard bark Eagle, the Capitan Miranda from Uruguay, and the Gloria from Colombia.
USCG Eagle Photo Credit United States Coast Guard
The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter USCGC Eagle (WIX-327) (ex-Horst Wessel) is a 295-foot (90 m) barque used as a training cutter for future officers of the United States Coast Guard. She and the USS Constitution are the only active commissioned sailing vessels in American government service. This beautiful, historic barque is based at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut.
She is the seventh U.S. Navy or Coast Guard ship to bear the name in a line dating back to 1792. Each summer, Eagle conducts cruises with cadets from the United States Coast Guard Academy and candidates from the Officer Candidate School for periods ranging from a week to two months. These cruises fulfill multiple roles; the primary mission is training the cadets and officer candidates, but the ship also performs a public relations role. Often, Eagle makes calls at foreign ports as a goodwill ambassador.
Tall Ship Captain Miranda
The Captain Miranda was launched in Spain in 1930 as sailing cargo carrier, she was active in various trades in Latin America after World War II. She became a hydrographic survey vessel for the Uruguayan Navy during the 1960s, and in 1978 was converted to school ship or the training future officers of the Uruguayan Navy. She has frequently competed in the Cutty Sark Tall Ships’ Races.
The Tall Ship Gloria Photo Credit Wildfl
The Tall ship Gloria was purpose-built in 1968 as a sail-training ship in the Celeya shipyard in Spain, as a training ship for the Colombian navy. The Gloria is over 56 meters (257ft) long – one of the biggest tall ships still afloat. She is steel-hulled, but there is plenty of polished wood and brass and her four masts and 23 sails give her an appearance of being even older than she is. Her figurehead, coated in glittering gold-leaf, is called Maria Salud, reputedly after the sculptor’s daughter.
The Gloria and Capitan Miranda will be docked at the Tampa Convention Center, while the Eagle will be docked at the Yacht Starship dock at Channelside Bay Plaza.
Attendees at the Sail Tampa Bay 2010 will have the opportunity to see the ships as they arrive for the Parade of Sail, as well as board each of the ships, interact with crew and experience daily life on a sailing ship.
The celebration begins with a spectacular “Parade of Sail” as the ships enter the Port of Tampa, Florida with thousands of spectators lining the shoreline. The 5-day festival will feature live music and dockside tours of the ships located at Convention Center and Channelside Channel. Sail Tampa Bay is a non-profit committee formed under the guidance of Tampa Bay and Company…Tampa’s Convention and Visitors Bureau.
