Crowds pack Baltimore’s Inner Harbor for Sail250
“It’s so nice to see this place busy again,” one visitor said. “I haven’t been here for years. I’ve really missed it.”
Above: Crowds gathered at Baltimore’s Inner Harbor for Sail250 stream past the Arc Gloria, the official flagship of the Colombian Navy. (Fern Shen)
There were crumbly, dead brown plants in many of the planters outside the Harborplace pavilions at the Inner Harbor yesterday.
And most of the shops inside the two “festival marketplace” buildings were shuttered, like the former Morelife Organic Juices shop that had its own dead plant on display and no life to speak of.
But out on the open strip of public parkland by the water it was a different story.
It was teeming with life, with a crowd of thousands stretched up and down the promenade.
The sea of of people had come to the heart of Baltimore’s tourist waterfront for this year’s visitation by “tall ships.”
Dubbed Sail250 Maryland, the event combined tours of international sailing ships with views of the aerobatics of the U.S. Navy’s Blue Angels. It was timed to commemorate the nation’s 250th anniversary, honoring the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. (The event ends tomorrow, the final day for public ship tours. See the official site for details.)
On Sunday, families, couples, cellphone users snapping selfies and hobbyists with serious cameras were all there to take in the surreal sight: a flotilla of elaborately rigged sailing ships that had plowed up the Patapsco and parallel parked along the city’s piers.
There was the white and green ARC Colombia, with the tallest of its three masts towering 115 feet into the air and, closer to eye level, a carved gold figurehead representing “la Madre de los Vientos” (Mother of the Winds).
On the Inner Harbor’s west wall was the INS Sudarshini, a training ship for the Indian Navy that had made a voyage of over 13,000 nautical miles from Kochi, India, to come first to Norfolk and then to Baltimore.
As always, there was Baltimore’s permanent hometown attraction, the USS Constellation. The sloop-of-war built in 1854 is now a museum attraction, but has a long history as the last sail-only warship designed and built by the U.S. Navy.
Visitors enjoy the sight of dragon boats, the three-masted Arc Gloria from Colombia and a big old anchor to climb on. BELOW: Planters displaying dead plants outside the Pratt Street Pavilion. (Fern Shen)
Sail250 wasn’t all about the nautical theme.
There was a live band playing in the Harborplace amphitheater. Merchants were selling sports-themed sunhats. The tiny people-powered Dragon Boats were buzzing around over toward the National Aquarium.
And Señora Colombia, in her bright yellow dress and pageant sash, worked the promenade, greeting passersby with a smile as bright as her sparkly crown.
Even the two Harborplace buildings – slated for demolition later this year to make way for high-rise apartments and a multi-level food and beverage hub – were busy despite their down-at-heel appearance.
A crêpe restaurant on the second floor of the Pratt Street Pavilion was doing a good business. And nearby, the building was humming with activity thanks to a STEM education show for young students.
“It’s so nice to see this place busy again,” said Theresa Jones, of Randallstown, who was there with her nieces. “I haven’t been here for years. I’ve really missed it!”
More Sunday Sail250 Images
A red, white and blue crosswalk leads Sail250 visitors to the mostly shuttered Harborplace. (Fern Shen)
Former juice joint on the second floor of the Pratt Street Pavilion. (Fern Shen)
Visitors chat with Senora Colombia. (Fern Shen)
A hat vendor hawks his wares near the USS Constellation. (Fern Shen)
A STEM education event held as part of Sail250 inside the Pratt Street Pavilion is mobbed with kids and adults. (Fern Shen)
Young girls pose for a photo as people stream past the USS Constellation and other tall ships at Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. (Fern Shen)