Sail 4th 250: The “Gorch Fock” takes part in New York – and a yacht from Germany

It is likely to be one of the largest international gatherings of windjammers ever held: At the Sail 4th 250 Dozens of historic ships have gathered in the east-coast metropolis, including 14 genuine tall ships, most of which are active training ships.

4 July parade featuring the “Gorch Fock”

The celebrations under sail kicked off yesterday, on Independence Day, 4 July, with a parade of ships – some under full sail – in New York Harbour off the southern tip of Manhattan and on the Hudson River. The event was watched by spectators both on land and on the water. Aerobatic teams flew over the harbour area.

​Also taking part: “Walross 4” from ASV Berlin

The official German representative at the US anniversary celebrations is the training sailing ship “Gorch Fock”. However, the Navy’s barque is not the only ambassador bearing the black, red and gold colours on its stern: a sailing yacht from Germany has also made it onto the organisers’ official list – the only one from abroad – the “Walross 4” from the Akademischer Segler-Verein in Berlin.

Berlin Bear in front of the Statue of Liberty

At yesterday’s parade, the boat sailed the Nissen 56, built in 2007 with skipper Oliver Krist and his crew of students, accompanying the “Gorch Fock”. Its origins were impossible to miss: the red-white-red spinnaker of the performance cruising yacht features a Berlin bear several metres high.

Windjammers from all over the world at the starting line

The line-up of tall ships is impressive: among the big names are the sister ships “Juan Sebastian de Elcano” from Spain and “Esmeralda” from Chile, both top-sail schooners, Italy’s full-rigged ship “Amerigo Vespucci” – with the unique black-and-white livery of a 19th-century line-of-battle ship – and, as the largest and newest participant, the four-masted barque “Union” from Peru, which only entered service in 2016.

Highlight: the Five Sisters Trophy

Particular attention, however, is paid to the ‘four sisters’: these are the ‘Gorch Fock’ and its three predecessors, which are almost identical in design. All were originally built in Germany, still going strong around the world today. The highlight of the celebrations will be a competition between them: the Five Sisters Cup, a trophy that has only been contested once before – in 1976, to mark the 200th anniversary of the United States.

Back then, the “Gorch Fock” won the prize. Now, half a century later, she is set to defend her title. The start of the tall ships’ regatta will take place on Wednesday 9 July at 3 pm German time. The race finishes in Boston, where the ships are expected the following day and the celebrations continued will be.