Ready the raiding party! Cast the landlubbers off the port bow! Portsmouth is ripe for the plundering! The annual Sail Portsmouth festival celebrates 25 years of bringing tall ships in to Portsmouth Harbor, and this year, pirate ships will be at the head of the fleet.
El Galeon Andalucia, a 170-foot Spanish replica of a 16th-century galleon, and Privateer Lynx, a 120-foot replica of a schooner from the early 1800s, will be escorted into Portsmouth Harbor on Wednesday, July 22. They’ll arrive with a mammoth sea parade of more than 100 seafaring vessels, remaining until Sunday for visitors to investigate and explore.
Expect a lot of cannon fire as the parade makes its way into the harbor, said Larry Job, vice chairman of the Portsmouth Maritime Commission, which has been bringing tall ships to Portsmouth for the last eight years.
“It’s the single biggest weekend event of the year in Portsmouth in terms of bringing in people” from outside the area, Job said. He expects a turnout of more than 15,000 potential pirates, privateers, and curious would-be mariners. The festival includes swashbuckling pirates (don’t worry, they’re actors), sea shanty sing-alongs, dozens of exhibitors, and a chance to take a two-hour sailing adventure on the Lynx, as well as tours of other vessels.
What draws the crowds year after year? “The romance of the sea” and the history of the ships attracts many, Job said. Others, like engineers, come to check out the design of vessels made by hand upwards of 400 years ago, Job added.
There’s plenty of history and craftsmanship to appreciate at this year’s festival. The Andalucia, a Spanish galleon, is the only ship of its kind sailing the seven seas of the world today, Job said. The four-masted, seven-sailed ship calls Seville, Spain her home port, but travels to more than 50 ports across the globe each year, providing maritime aficionados an opportunity to experience a piece of the past. The galleon-style ship was a favorite of Caribbean pirates during the 1600s, according to Job. During the festival, it will be docked at the fishing pier at Peirce Island in Portsmouth.
El Galeon Andalucia, a 170-foot replica of a 16th-century Spanish galleon, is headed for Portsmouth Harbor. (photos courtesy Fundacion Nao Victoria)
The Privateer Lynx is a replica of a two-masted topsail schooner built in Baltimore during the War of 1812. The ship’s purpose: to outrun British naval blockades and run down British merchant vessels. The schooners were built primarily for speed, though they were armed. The Lynx will be docked in New Castle near the Coast Guard station, though it will not be open for tours.
So, were the crew members of the Lynx pirates or privateers? “It depends on your perspective,” Job said. The words are somewhat interchangeable. Privateers were hired by American merchant leaders; privateers with a “mark” were permitted to do whatever they could to bring goods back from the British in return for prize money. Pirates, of course, were considered rogues of the sea, out to plunder for their own gain, beholden to no authority — the sort of perspective the British might have had of American privateers.
Though the ships are replicas, they were constructed according to the original blueprints, Job said. “Wood doesn’t last 200 years” in water, he said. Not even “Old Ironsides,” the USS Constitution, has any original wood left except on its keel. The ships do benefit from a bit of technology; radar keeps the crews safe and engines keep the ships sailing, even when there’s no wind, Job said.
Job said the festival is still looking for more volunteers to help out. “We need about 50 to 75,” Job said. Volunteers are needed both at Peirce Island and in New Castle to help with visitors, parking, concessions, and more.
Sail Portsmouth takes place July 22-26. The Parade of Sail is on July 22 at 3 p.m.; day sails take place throughout the festival. A full schedule and ticket information are at sailportsmouth.org.