Sail Portsmouth 2023 – a maritime festival featuring tall ships

Parade of Sail and Flotilla

July 27, 2023 – 6:15 to 7:15 PM

Starts at mouth of the Piscataqua River and ends in the vicinity of the Memorial Bridge

The Parade of Sail kicks off Sail Portsmouth with five tall ships plus Piscataqua, Portsmouth’s own tall ship, escorted by hundreds of private pleasure craft and commercial fishing boats up the Piscataqua River to the Memorial Bridge and then to the docks. The Parade is sponsored by Sail Portsmouth, Portsmouth Propeller Club and Portsmouth 400.

Tall ships sailing in the Parade will be NAO Trinidad, Ernestina-Morrissey, Lynx, Denis Sullivan, Bowdoin, and Piscataqua.

Owners of private vessels are welcome to join the festivities by joining in the Parade and escorting the tall ships up the river. All privately owned pleasure or commercial fishing vessels who participate are eligible to enter in the drawing for a Hamilton Marine gift certificate worth $1,000. Just pick up a free coupon from any local yacht or boat club, the Hamilton Marine, Kittery, or Brewster’s Bait & Tackle, 121 Mechanic Street, Portsmouth.  Complete the information on the entry ticket and bring it to the Hamilton Marine store, 56 US 1 By-pass, Kittery.

Best Viewpoints

The most accessible sites for the public to enjoy the Parade are:

The Commons, New Castle

Fort McClary State Park, Kittery

Four Tree Island, Portsmouth

Memorial Bridge sidewalk, between Portsmouth and Kittery

Tall Ship Tours

Friday, July 28 through Monday, July 31 – 10 AM to 5 PM

Trinidad and Ernestina-Morrissey will be docked at the Portsmouth Commercial Fish Pier located on Peirce Island, across from Prescott Park and the Gundalow dock.  The last tour begins at 4:30 PM and the ships close at 5 PM.

The tours are often the highlight of Sail Portsmouth, creating one of the busiest, fun-filled summer weekends on the Seacoast.  On the way to the tours, people can linger in the maritime tent to enjoy the exhibits and may even meet 19th Century reenactors from Strawbery Banke Museum in period costumes and encounter friendly roaming pirates on the dock. Food and drinks will be available as will some live entertainment.

Covid protocols in place at the time of the event will be followed.

Tickets sold in advance may be used for entry on any one of the four festival days. Tickets are also available at the gate on the day of entry.

Tall Ship Tour Parking

Parking is provided at the city garages and the Little Harbor School parking lot. Shuttles run all day during the festival from the parking to the Peirce Island venue. For detailed information and a shuttle route map, please, click Here.

Tall Ship Day Sails

Sails from Wednesday, July 26 to Monday, July 31.

July 26 – Gloucester to New Castle, one-way sail aboard Lynx

July 27 – One two-hour sail and the Parade of Sail Ride-in aboard Lynx

July 28 through July 31 – Three 2-hour ocean sails per day aboard Lynx

July 29 – Portsmouth to Boston, one-way sail aboard Denis Sullivan

Lynx will dock at the UNH Pier, New Castle from which she will take passengers sailing throughout Sail Portsmouth. Her first sail is a one-way trip from Gloucester to Portsmouth on Wednesday, July 26. She will be taking passengers aboard for 13 two-hour sails during the 4-day festival. Plus, she will be repeating the always popular Parade of Sail Ride-in for 40 lucky passengers.

This year, we are bringing back the ever-popular one-way Sail to Boston. The three-masted schooner, Denis Sullivan, will depart from Portsmouth Saturday morning, July 29 and arrive downtown Boston in time for dinner that day.

To see schedules and purchase tickets, please follow instructions below.

Ticketing

To reserve a place on board for any of the tall ship sails, you must purchase tickets in advance. You have two ways to access the ticketing site: on this website (sailportsmout.org) or via QR code.

For the ship tours. exhibitors’ tent, food and entertainment at the Sail Portsmouth venue on Peirce Island, you may buy in advance or at the gate on day of entry. Tickets purchased in advance are good for entry on any one of the four days.