I had the opportunity on Friday to watch the Tall Ships parade into Portsmouth (NH) Harbor – such a cool event!  This was the opening event for the Sail Portsmouth weekend, one of the busiest weekends in Portsmouth for the summer.  And Portsmouth is such a cool town.

The ships included the US Coast Guard Cutter Eagle, Sailing Yacht Denis Sullivan, Schooner Ernestina-Morrissey, and the Portsmouth based Gundalow Boat (used many years back to transport cargo across Portsmouth Harbor).

Even without all its sails unfurled, the USCGC Eagle is (in particular) such an impressive sight.  It is normally based in New London, CT and is used by the Coast Guard to train cadets and officer candidates in seamanship and leadership.

My vantage point was primarily from Great Island Common in New Castle, which sits at the mouth of the Piscataqua River and the entrance to Portsmouth Harbor.  Throughout the parade, which went from the mouth of the harbor to the Memorial Bridge, there were cannon salutes, either from ship or shore, a constant water gun salute from two fire boats, and hundreds of horns from private craft.

There are free tours on the Eagle this weekend if you are in the Portsmouth area!