7/24 Dawn breaks about 6am to find us preparing for the day. By 9 o’clock we have crawled through traffic, parked by the roadside and walked a half-mile with our fellow spectators to a vantage point on the old York redoubt east of the city. We’re high on a hill overlooking the mouth of the harbor, along with hundreds of others.

Follow the crowd

        It will later be estimated that over a quarter million people lined the shores with us. We stake out the best few square feet still available and wait for the 10am beginning of the "parade of sails".

        Right on time, the famous Nova Scotian schooner "Bluenose" leads the stately and beautiful march of the tall ships, under sail, to the sea. It lasts for almost 2 hours, ships large and ships small, representing many nations of the world. It is as moving and exciting to us as a space shuttle launch and we capture many, many photos.

  Bluenose II

"Esmeralda" from Chile,
the largest in the parade.

 

 

 

 

 

That's Martha, standing, 3rd from the left.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mir: Russia. 2nd largest of all.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Eagle: The United States, and it belongs to the Coast Guard. (Notice the similarity between Mir and Eagle: they were both German ships and were siezed as prizes at the end of WWII.)

        Back to the truck for our lunch as we wait for most of the traffic to disperse. On the way back to the trailer it’s necessary to turn on the air conditioning, something we haven’t done for several weeks.

        It’s been a perfect day.