Two tall ships will be sailing into Plymouth Harbor again this year during the second Sail Plymouth festival scheduled for the last weekend in June.
Last year, Sail Plymouth was held over the Fourth of July weekend and was planned to coincide with Sail Boston. This year the festival will be held Friday, Saturday and Sunday, June 25, 26 and 27
“It was just so popular last year, we had to do it again,” Plymouth Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Denis Hanks said in announcing the second year of Sail Plymouth.
Contracts have not yet been signed, but the Chamber has received verbal commitments from the owners of two schooners to be the main attractions at Sail Plymouth. Negotiations are ongoing with the owner of a smaller vessel, a World War II PT boat, to join the festivities.
The schooners are the 90-foot Alabama, a Black Dog Tall Ship based on Martha’s Vineyard and captained by Morgan Douglas; and the 120-foot Westward, a sail training ship owned by the Maine Ocean Classroom Foundation. The Alabama will be in town Friday and Saturday, June 25 and 26, while the Westward will be in Plymouth all three days.
Tours will be offered from noon to 7 p.m. each day. The cost of a tour has not been finalized, but individual passes will be sold. Hanks said this is a change from last year when tours of the Amistad and Peacemaker were sold as part of a package and visitors had to pay for both. Children under 12 will be able to board for free.
Also returning this year will be the Sail Plymouth parade of boats, scheduled for Saturday, June 26. The Chamber requests that boat owners register their boats to be part of the parade.
For updates on Sail Plymouth events or to register for the boat parade, check www.sailplymouthma.com.
The Chamber wants Sail Plymouth to be an annual event.
“As long as ships are available, we’ll keep doing it,” Hanks said.
