THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, June 23, 1995 TAG: 9506230497
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEVE STONE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 66 lines
Cannon blasts will rumble over the downtown waterfront at 11 a.m. today as a gun battery on shore exchanges traditional salutes with an arriving fleet of tall ships.
The tall ships will grace the Norfolk waterfront this weekend, recalling days long past when sail power was the dominant force of international commerce and the Port of Hampton Roads was one of its busy hubs.
This will be the biggest gathering of wind-driven ships in Norfolk since Discovery Sail of the Americas '92, the celebration of the 500th anniversary of Christopher Columbus' sailing to the New World.
This time around, the ships are coming to mark a new beginning of a different sort: the inaugural run of what is intended to be the world's first racing series for tall ships.
Dubbed Americas' Sail '95, the race will begin Monday at the entrance to Hampton Roads and run over several days to a finish just off Long Island, N.Y. The ships will then sail into New Haven, Conn., to take part in the Special Olympics World Games, which bring together 6,500 athletes from 120 nations.
The tall ships will dock around Otter Berth at Town Point Park and be the center of attention at a weekend festival featuring music, dance and food.
The ships will be open for visits. Each has its own distinct role and history.
The Coast Guard's Eagle (U.S.), the only active square-rigger in U.S. government service, is the largest tall ship flying the American flag. The 295-foot training vessel, based in New London, Conn., was built in 1936 in Germany. It was first used to train naval cadets for Nazi Germany. After World War II, it was taken as a war prize by the United States and turned over to the Coast Guard.
The 270-foot Simon Bolivar (Venezuela) is one of the world's newest tall ships. The ship, which has a crew of 17 officers, 24 warrant officers, 51 enlisted men and 102 midshipmen, completed its maiden voyage in 1981 between Caracas and Portsmouth, N.H. It was designed and built to train officers of the Venezuelan navy.
The 205-foot Capitan Miranda (Uruguay) has sailed more than 50,000 miles in the past six years in its role as a sail training vessel for the Uruguayan navy.
The 156-foot Tole Mour (U.S.) was built by the Hawaii-based Marimed Foundation to support primary health care and educational programs in Micronesia. This year The Marimed Foundation began operating the vessel in an expanding program to help emotionally impaired youths in Hawaii.
The 180-foot H.M.S. Rose (U.S.) is a replica of a late 18th-century Royal Navy frigate of the same name, built in 1757. This Rose was built using the original plans.
The 130-foot New Way (U.S.) is operated by VisionQuest National Ltd. The ship is used in a program to help troubled adolescents learn honor, self-discipline and the work ethic.
The 92-foot Zenobe Gramme (Belgium) is a ketch designed for scientific research.
The 79-foot Black Pearl (U.S.), built for personal use, is operated today by the Aquaculture Foundation, a nonprofit corporation formed to promote quality education and marine studies. ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
[For complete graphic, please see microfilm]
by CNB