USS Constitution —“Old Ironsides”— will get underway at 10 a.m. on Sat., July 4, as part of Independence Day observances and will fire off a 21-gun salute near at Castle Island at about 11:30 a.m. Above, the world’s oldest commissioned warship afloat, is shown in a photo by Greg M. Cooper.
Boston Harbor will again become a showcase for the world’s tall ships next week as Sail Boston 2026 welcomes more than 60 vessels from around the globe for a week-long celebration tied to the nation’s 250th anniversary.
The festival will begin on Sat., July 11, with the Meet Boston Parade of Sail, expected to draw millions of spectators along the waterfront. The fleet will gather beyond Deer Island in Massachusetts Bay beginning around 9 a.m. before making its way past Castle Island and into the inner harbor at approximately 10:15 a.m. The ships will then turn around in the harbor and proceed to berthing locations in Charlestown, downtown Boston, and the Seaport.
While the official viewing areas for the parade are concentrated along Castle Island, the Seaport, downtown waterfront, East Boston, the North End, and Charlestown, Dorchester residents will be able to catch portions of the procession from Columbia Point and the Harborwalk areas near UMass Boston and the JFK Library, depending on visibility and harbor conditions.
For the closest views from this side of the city, Castle Island and Pleasure Bay in South Boston remain the recommended spots.
Once docked, many vessels will be open for public viewing and boarding through July 15, with sailing exhibitions, workshops, and opportunities to meet crew members and cadets from participating nations. The fleet includes 12 flagships representing allied navies from around the world.
Boston will serve as the fifth port of the Sail 250 Regatta, a global gathering of tall ships and military vessels marking the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States. Tall ship visits have been a Boston tradition since 1976, when ships came to the harbor as part of the nation’s Bicentennial celebration.
“Boston’s maritime history is so unique; it is integral to our identity, which Sail Boston will showcase in spectacular ways,” said Martha Sheridan, president and CEO of Meet Boston, the presenting sponsor of the event.
The Seaport will be one of the central hubs of the festival, with ships berthed within walking distance of the Sail Boston Festival at 302 Northern Ave. Italy’s Amerigo Vespucci and Argentina’s Libertad will be located nearby. A temporary “Wharf 8” behind Leader Bank Pavilion will host the Ernestina Morrissey, the state ship of Massachusetts, along with the Dominican Republic’s Juan Bautista Cambiaso, Nantucket’s Lynx, and Sweden’s HMS Gladen.
Other major berthing sites include Boston Fish Pier, where Germany’s Gorch Fock, India’s Sudarshini, and Portugal’s Sagres will be docked; Commonwealth Pier, where Peru’s BAP Union and Chile’s Esmeralda will be among the highlights; and Charlestown, which will host 18 ships, including Romania’s Mircea, Poland’s Dar Młodzieży, and the US Coast Guard Eagle near the USS Constitution.
Rowes Wharf will host the Oosterschelde of the Netherlands and Delaware’s Kalmar Nyckel, while Fan Pier will host four ships, including the Mayflower II from Plymouth and Elissa from Texas. The USS Arlington will be stationed at Black Falcon Cruise Terminal alongside the Massachusetts Maritime Academy training vessel TS Patriot State.
Ship viewing from the piers is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. from July 12 through July 15, with boarding available at the discretion of each ship’s captain. On July 11, boarding will depend on each vessel’s arrival and readiness, though organizers expect most ships to be open by 5 p.m.
More information is available at SailBoston.com.
‘Old Ironsides’ will be underway on July 4
USS Constitution is scheduled to get underway from the Charlestown Navy Yard at 10 a.m. on Saturday as part of Independence Day observances and the national celebrations marking America’s 250th birthday.
During the voyage, “Old Ironsides” will render a 21-gun salute off Fort Independence at Castle Island at about 11:30 a.m. The ship will later fire a 17-gun salute as it passes US Coast Guard Base Boston, the former site of Edmund Hartt’s shipyard, where USS Constitution was built and then launched on Oct. 21, 1797.
The underway will be visible from the Harborwalk, Castle Island, and the Charlestown Navy Yard. USS Constitution, the world’s oldest commissioned warship afloat, served in the Barbary Wars and the War of 1812 and is known as “America’s Ship of State.”
The ship is normally open for free public visits Tuesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. On July 4, it will be closed to visitors in the morning and is expected to reopen for tours at about 3 p.m. following its return to port. Visitors 18 and older must show a valid state or federal photo ID or passport to board.
