Sail250 Virginia is not the first time a fleet of international tall ships has gathered in Norfolk’s waters.
Yet it’s not an overstatement to put “epic” and “once-in-a-generation” in the same sentence as the global event, when tall ships and military vessels converge to mark the 250th anniversary of the nation’s founding.
What organizers are calling the greatest parade of sail ever in Hampton Roads will launch a multi-day waterfront festival in Town Point Park beginning Friday; add to that, for the weekend, are a simultaneous expanded Juneteenth celebration and the 50th anniversary of Harborfest.
Sail250 in Norfolk runs through June 23.
“It is on a scale that our area has never seen before,” said Karen Scherberger, executive director of Sail250 Virginia and Norfolk Festevents.
What’s on deck? The event starts with the 26-nautical-mile parade, with the first ship departing Lynnhaven Anchorage at 7:30 a.m. More than 60 ships will pass over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel and by Fort Monroe before turning into the mouth of the Elizabeth to dock at Town Point Park and in Portsmouth.
The only opportunity to view the entire fleet in one place is at Lynnhaven Anchorage off the Lesner Bridge before the parade. All ships will be in place by 2 p.m. on Thursday. Ships from 32 countries are expected.
The Blue Angels will conduct a flyover with the first ship’s arrival at Town Point Park around noon. Tall ships and character vessels will be open for tours starting at 3 p.m. and continuing at select times through June 22.
The majestic tall ships are considered ambassadors for their countries. Many of them, such as the DAR Mlodziezy, are stunning. The Polish ship that stands 144 feet was that country’s first to circumnavigate the globe in the late 1980s.
Also breathtaking: Romania’s N.S. Mircea, captured during World War II and kept as a war reparation before being returned to Romania in 1946. The three-masted barque is more than 266 feet long.
Indonesia’s KRI Bima Suci, the country's largest ship, had planned to participate, but does not have clearance to travel to the United States because of the ongoing war in Iran.
During Sail250, the Navy will host FLEEXTEX 250 with partner military ships at Naval Station Norfolk. Approximately 25 Navy ships from around the world will take part in fleet exercises before sailing to New York.
Free transportation will shuttle people from downtown to the base. More than 20,000 military personnel will be involved in FLEETEX.
To tour any of the ships, adults should carry some form of government-issued identification and be prepared to show it if requested. Visit Sail250Virginia.com/Naval-Base-Tours for more details on requirements.
Norfolk is one of five cities selected to host Sail250, including New Orleans, Boston, Baltimore and New York.
Scherberger began working on Sail250 in 2019; she has been part of all five OpSail events and the first one was in 1976.
Organization requires tons of work: Ongoing waterfront development poses challenges as piers are constantly being improved or removed. So do the varying protocols that come when cooperation is a must among the service branches, federal agencies, including the FBI and Homeland Security, the law enforcement community and various port authorities. The addition of the Blue Angels involves the Federal Aviation Administration.
“The landscape is ever changing,” she said. “All these agencies are doing what they do every day. But it’s not often that they all are brought to the same table working side by side and in collaboration and communication with all of the moving parts, in the water, in the air, even under the water.”
Several neighboring harbors, such as Hampton and Smithfield, hosted Sail250 festivals this past weekend.
Events continue in:
- SailFest Cape Charles, June 19-21
- Portsmouth’s Seawall Festival, June 19-22
- Charter to Chesapeake, June 20-21
Visit Sail250virginia.com for more information.
