Sail4th 250 guide with list of tall ships in NYC for Fourth of July weekend

More than 100 tall ships and navy vessels from around the world have voyaged to New York Harbor to commemorate America's 250th anniversary and celebrate the Fourth of July in historic fashion. 

The Sail4th 250 Parade of Tall Ships is set to feature what organizers call "the largest-ever flotilla of tall ships" from 20 countries sailing up the Hudson River between New York and New Jersey.

It will be a highlight of a week of July Fourth celebrations in New York City. 

What is Sail4th 250?

Sail4th 250 is expected to be the largest international maritime gathering in U.S. history.

It officially begins July 3 at 1 p.m., when a parade of Class B tall ships from fleets around the world will sail down the East River from the Hell Gate Bridge near Randall's Island and Astoria, Queens, to the South Street Seaport. The ships will then anchor in Gravesend, Brooklyn. 

The larger vessels will sail in the main parade of ships on July 4 at 9:30 a.m., after an international aerial review with U.S. and international aircraft flying in formations over the Hudson River. Forty tall ships, 30 U.S. Navy vessels and more will sail from the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge to the George Washington Bridge before heading back down the river.

"You're going to see 200 planes roar overhead in military flyovers. Over 30 U.S. and allied Navy ships will anchor in a parade of 40 vessels from around the world," Gov. Kathy Hochul said.

The tall ships will remain docked in New York for public viewing through July 7.

On July 8, four ships will embark on a race to Boston to claim the Five Sisters Cup for the first time since the bicentennial. The race is between four of the five sister ships still in service: Eagle (U.S.), Sagres (Portugal), Mircea (Romania) and, the most recent winner, Gorch Fock (Germany).

You can track all of the ships' locations in real time using this tool from Aqua Map.  

Where to watch the July Fourth Parade of Ships

You'll need a view of the Hudson River between New York City and New Jersey in order to watch the Sail4th 250 Parade of Tall Ships.

Organizers expect 8-10 million spectators will fill up the 15 miles of shoreline on both sides of the river.   

Tall ships will sail up from the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, pass the Statue of Liberty and continue to the George Washington Bridge starting at 9:30 a.m. The parade is expected to last four and a half hours.

If you want a viewing spot directly along the Hudson River, the NYPD says you should use these access points:

• West 55th St.
• West 44th St.
• West 24th St. 
• West 11th St. 
• Christopher St. 
• Laight St. 
• Riverside Park

Like last month's Knicks championship parade, visitors will need to go through security checkpoints, including bag checks and magnetometers, the NYPD says. Backpacks will not be allowed. 

The West Side Highway will also be closed intermittently to vehicular traffic below 59th Street until about 2 p.m.

List of tall ships at Sail4th 250

Here's the list of tall ships in the July Fourth parade in the order they are expected to sail. 

Oosterschelde

• Type: 164-foot, three-masted topsail schooner
• Homeported in Rotterdam, Netherlands

USCGC Eagle

• Type: 295-foot three-masted barque
  
• Homeported in New London, Connecticut

Pride of Baltimore II

• Type: Reproduction of sharp-built Baltimore Clippers of late-18th and early-19th centuries
• Homeported in Maryland

Ticonderoga

• Type: 72-foot classic yacht
• Homeported in Greenwich, Connecticut

Ara Libertad

• Type: 340-foot, three-masted, steel-hulled full-rigged ship
• Homeported in Buenos Aires, Argentina

Lynx

• Type: 122-foot, square topsail schooner
• Homeported in Portsmouth, New Hampshire

Esmeralda

• Type: 371-foot steel-hulled four-masted barquentine tall ship
• Homeported in Valparaiso, Chile

Clearwater

• Type: 106-foot, the wooden-hulled sloop
• Homeported in New York

Arc Gloria

• Type: 212-foot, three-masted barque tall ship
• Homeported in Cartagena, Colombia

American Eagle

• Type: 123-foot Gloucester fishing schooner
• Homeported in Rockland, Maine

Juan Bautista Cambiaso

• Type: 177-foot, steel-hulled, three-masted barquentine
• Homeported in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

Pioneer

• Type: Approximately 102-foot, three-masted schooner  
• Homeported at the South Street Seaport Museum in New York City 

BAE Guayas (BE-51)

• Type: 257-foot long, steel-hulled, three-masted barque
• Homeported in Guayaquil, Ecuador

Liberty Clipper

• Type: 125-foot, gaff-rigged schooner
• Homeported in Boston, Massachusetts

Belle Poule

• Type: 123-foot, two-masted schooner
• Homeported in Brest, France

Tuiga

• Type: 93-foot, three-masted, wooden-hull racing schooner
• Homeported in Monaco

Gorch Fock

• Type:  266-foot-long, three-masted barque tall ship
• Homeported in Kiel, Germany

Walross 4

• Type: 55-foot sailing yacht
• Homeported in Berlin, Germany

INS Sudarshini

• Type: 177-foot three-masted barque  
• Homeported in Kochi, India

Bowdoin

• Type: 88-foot gaff-rigged schooner
• Homeported at the Maine Maritime Academy in Castine, Maine

Amerigo Vespucci

• Type: 329-foot, full-rigged, three-masted sail training vessel
• Homeported in La Spezia, Italy

Adirondack

• Type: 65-foot wood-hull schooner
• Homeported in New York

BAP Unión

• Type: 378-foot, four-masted, steel-hulled sail training ship
  
• Homeported in Callao, Peru

Tabor Bay

• Type: 115-foot schooner
• Homeported in Marion, Massachusetts

Dar Mlodziezy

• Type: 354-foot, three-masted full-rigged ship
• Homeported at Gdynia Maritime University in Poland

When and If 

• Type: 63.5-foot schooner
• Homeported in Key West, Florida (winter) and Salem, Massachusetts (summer)

NRP Sagres

• Type: 292-foot, three-masted barque
  
• Homeported in Lisbon, Portugal

Lady Maryland

• Type: 104-foot gaff-rigged, wood-hulled pungy topsail schooner
• Homeported in Baltimore, Maryland

Mircea

• Type: 269-foot, three-masted barque
• Homeported in Constanta, Romania

Mayan

• Type: 65-foot wooden staysail schooner
• Homeported in California

Juan Sebastián de Elcano

• Type: 371-foot, four-masted topsail, steel-hulled barquentine
  
• Homeported in Cadiz, Spain

HMS Gladan

• Type: 129-foot-long, two-masted topsail schooner
• Homeported in Karlskrona, Sweden

America 2.0

• Type: 105-foot, eco-friendly wooden sailing yacht
• Homeported in New York City and Key West, Florida

Capitán Miranda

• Type: 210-foot, three-masted staysail schooner
• Homeported in Montevideo, Uruguay

Vela

• Type: 112-foot, gaff-rigged schooner
• Homeported in Virgin Gorda, British Virgin Islands

Elissa

• Type: 141-foot three-masted iron-hulled barque
• Homeported at Galveston Historic Seaport in Texas

Angelique

• Type: 130-foot gaff topsail ketch
• Homeported in Camden, Maine

Ernestina-Morissey

• Type: 156-foot, two-masted schooner
• Homeported in New Bedford, Massachusetts

Harvey Gamage

• Type: 131-foot, gaff rigged schooner
• Homeported in Portland, Maine

Denis Sullivan

• Type: 137-foot, three-masted schooner
• Homeported in Milwaukee, Wisconsin