Tis the season for tall ships festivals. Tomorrow, Tall Ships Chicago 2010 begins in the Windy City at the Navy Pier. The event runs through August 29th and is described as, “Twenty Ships. Six Days. Once-in-a-Lifetime. ”
Tall Ships Chicago 2010 – Event Overview
Navy Pier proudly welcomes more than20 majestic and historic tall ships from around the world, August 24 — 29. For the first time in Chicago, a tall ships festival of this size will be located in one place: Navy Pier. Visitors can view all of them, board up to 12 of the vessels, and even take daily sails aboard five of the tall ships.
The pageantry kicks-off with an opening day Parade of Sail on Lake Michigan, starting at 4 p.m. on August 24. As these storied ships with their billowing sails make their way to Navy Pier’s docks, they’ll form the perfect backdrop for the official Opening Ceremony at 5 p.m. You can even sail on a tall ship DURING the Parade of Sail and be on deck as you get a breathtaking view of the ships as they sail past Navy Pier.
Pepsi® Tall Ships Chicago 2010 has something for everyone from August 25 — 29. Ships will be docked in three Festival locations at Navy Per: Nautical Mile (North Dock), Canada Cove (NW Wall at the front of the Pier) and America Alley (SW Wall at the front of the Pier). Although the tall ships are the “stars” of our festival, the event also offers fun activities for kids at the Children’s Village, international entertainment at three festival stages, and nightly fireworks shows. Spend an entire day or two to create memories that will last a lifetime.
Three ways to enjoy Pepsi Tall Ships Chicago 2010:
- Festival Admission/Dockside Viewing Ticket (Festival Grounds admission & viewing all 20 tall ships.)
- Dockside Boarding Ticket (Boarding up to 12 tall ships, plus Festival Grounds Admission & Dockside Viewing.)
- Sail-Away Ticket (Taking a 60-minute or 90-minute sailing excursion on one of five tall ships.)
Come experience the grace and grandeur of maritime history along Chicago’s lakefront!
I wwould like to make reservations for family to board and take advantage of the 60 to 90 minute sail aboard one of the vessels
You should contact them directly though their website or by phone. You should be able to make reservations there. Their phone number is (800) 595-PIER .
http://www.navypier.com/tallshipschicago/ships/sailaway.html
Pingback: “Sisters Under Sail” – Schooner Unicorn at Tall Ships Chicago : Old Salt Blog – a virtual port of call for all those who love the sea
We purchased boarding passes that cost nearly $80 for a family of four. Saturday was much too crowded to enjoy anything… the entire Navy Pier was packed and each ship had an hour to 1 1/2 hour wait to get on it, then when you did – no one explained anything to you – they were just trying to sell t-shirts. There were so many people you could not enjoy it. I am a tall ship fan and this is a huge waste of money. They were charging $3.50 for a bottle of water, and were more concerned about packing people in and making money than an enjoyable family experience.
Kelly,
What shame that the crowds made the experience such a disappointment. Your experience doesn’t appear to be that unusual, unfortunately. At the tall ships festival in Duluth, earlier this month, the wait to get aboard the Bounty was reported to be between two and four hours.