SignOnSanDiego.com photos
Tall ships enter San Diego Harbor on Wednesday.
Festival of Sail 2008
When: 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday
Where: Maritime Museum of San Diego, Harbor Drive between Ash and Grape streets, downtown
Tickets: $15 to $20 for a “passport” to board ships and for entry to some festival activities; additional fees of $5 to $99 for on-the-water excursions.
Phone: (619) 234-9153
Online: sdmaritime.org
Video
 Parade of Sail
Go aboard and aloft with crewmember Bert Creighton of Chula Vista and the SignOnSanDiego helmetcam as the Maritime Museum of San Diego's tall ship Surprise joins the Parade of Sail Wednesday.
- Firing the big guns
 Gunners aboard the California demonstrate what it takes to fire one of the tall ship's signature rolling broadsides.
- Festival of sail schedule, ticket information
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SAN DIEGO – Fifteen tall ships sailed into San Diego Bay on Wednesday before tying up along the Embarcadero for the Maritime Museum of San Diego's 2008 Festival of Sail.
The festival runs through Sunday along Harbor Drive on the Embarcadero in downtown San Diego.
“This happens only every three years, and the event brings in tens of thousands of people,” said John Gilmore, Port of San Diego communications manager.
At 10 a.m. Wednesday, the ships paraded into the harbor, led by the Navy frigate Vandergrift, the Coast Guard cutter Sea Otter and a San Diego Harbor Police boat.
Also taking part in the parade is the U.S. Coast Guard's tall ship Eagle. Built in 1936, the Coast Guard Academy training ship has 21,350 square feet of sail and five miles of rigging.
To board the ships once at the Embarcadero, visitors can buy a “passport” ticket (there is no charge for boarding the Eagle). The passports are good through Dec. 31 for use later at the Maritime Museum.
For an additional fee, selected ships are offering on-the-water experiences. On Friday through Sunday, sail out for a mock cannon battle or board one of several vessels – including two 80-foot International America's Cup Class (IACC) yachts – for a bay cruise.
For details and schedules, call the Maritime Museum or visit online.
There will be plenty of onshore activities, too, including music, food, vendors and entertainment.
Other featured ships:
HMS Bounty: A 180-foot, full-rigged ship built 1960, the Bounty is a replica of a 1784 merchant ship and was built for MGM's “Mutiny on the Bounty” (1962) starring Marlon Brando. It also appeared in “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest,” “Treasure Island” and “The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie.”
HMS Surprise: A 179-foot, full-rigged ship built 1970, the HMS Surprise was launched as HMS Rose and was rechristened HMS Surprise for its role in the film “Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World” (2003). It is an authentic replica of a 1757 Royal Navy 24-gun frigate that cruised the American coast during the Revolutionary War.
San Diego's own Star of India will not take part in the parade, but can be visited during the festival. Built in 1863, it is the oldest ship in the world that still sails regularly, and the third-oldest ship afloat in the United States.
Penny Lingo is a San Diego writer.
