Nava Scoala Mircea, a sailing military training ship of the Romanian Navy, passes through the Bosphorus on July 03, 2025, in Istanbul, Turkiye.
Hakan Akgun/Anadolu via Getty Images
More than 100 tall ships and navy vessels from around the world have voyaged to New York Harbor to commemorate America’s 250th anniversary and celebrate the Fourth of July in historic fashion.
The Sail4th 250 Parade of Tall Ships is set to feature what organizers call “the largest-ever flotilla of tall ships” from 20 countries sailing up the Hudson River between New York and New Jersey.
It will be a highlight of a week of July Fourth celebrations in New York City.
What is Sail4th 250?
Sail4th 250 is expected to be the largest international maritime gathering in U.S. history.
It officially begins July 3 at 1 p.m., when a parade of Class B tall ships from fleets around the world will sail down the East River from the Hell Gate Bridge near Randall’s Island and Astoria, Queens, to the South Street Seaport. The ships will then anchor in Gravesend, Brooklyn.
The larger vessels will sail in the main parade of ships on July 4 at 9:30 a.m., after an international aerial review with U.S. and international aircraft flying in formations over the Hudson River. Forty tall ships, 30 U.S. Navy vessels and more will sail from the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge to the George Washington Bridge before heading back down the river.
“You’re going to see 200 planes roar overhead in military flyovers. Over 30 U.S. and allied Navy ships will anchor in a parade of 40 vessels from around the world,” Gov. Kathy Hochul said.
The tall ships will remain docked in New York for public viewing through July 7.
On July 8, four ships will embark on a race to Boston to claim the Five Sisters Cup for the first time since the bicentennial. The race is between four of the five sister ships still in service: Eagle (U.S.), Sagres (Portugal), Mircea (Romania) and, the most recent winner, Gorch Fock (Germany).
You can track all of the ships’ locations in real time using this tool from Aqua Map.
Where to watch the July Fourth Parade of Ships
You’ll need a view of the Hudson River between New York City and New Jersey in order to watch the Sail4th 250 Parade of Tall Ships.
Organizers expect 8-10 million spectators will fill up the 15 miles of shoreline on both sides of the river.
CBS News New York
Tall ships will sail up from the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, pass the Statue of Liberty and continue to the George Washington Bridge starting at 9:30 a.m. The parade is expected to last four and a half hours.
If you want a viewing spot directly along the Hudson River, the NYPD says you should use these access points:
West 55th St.West 44th St.West 24th St. West 11th St. Christopher St. Laight St. Riverside Park
Like last month’s Knicks championship parade, visitors will need to go through security checkpoints, including bag checks and magnetometers, the NYPD says. Backpacks will not be allowed.
The West Side Highway will also be closed intermittently to vehicular traffic below 59th Street until about 2 p.m.
List of tall ships at Sail4th 250
Here’s the list of tall ships in the July Fourth parade in the order they are expected to sail.
Oosterschelde
Type: 164-foot, three-masted topsail schoonerHomeported in Rotterdam, Netherlands
Dutch three-masted schooner Oosterschelde sails into the Veerhaven in Rotterdam on July 31 2025.
ROBIN UTRECHT/ANP/AFP via Getty Images
USCGC Eagle
Type: 295-foot three-masted barque
Homeported in New London, Connecticut
U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Eagle
Ben McCanna/Portland Press Herald via Getty Images
Pride of Baltimore II
Type: Reproduction of sharp-built Baltimore Clippers of late-18th and early-19th centuriesHomeported in Maryland
The Pride of Baltimore II sails into harbor during the Grand Parade in Two Harbors, Minn in 2022.
Renee Jones Schneider/Star Tribune via Getty Images
Ticonderoga
Type: 72-foot classic yachtHomeported in Greenwich, Connecticut
Ara Libertad
Type: 340-foot, three-masted, steel-hulled full-rigged shipHomeported in Buenos Aires, Argentina
The Argentine Navy frigate ARA Libertad.
Alan Diaz / AP
Lynx
Type: 122-foot, square topsail schoonerHomeported in Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Esmeralda
Type: 371-foot steel-hulled four-masted barquentine tall shipHomeported in Valparaiso, Chile
Clearwater
Type: 106-foot, the wooden-hulled sloopHomeported in New York
Arc Gloria
Type: 212-foot, three-masted barque tall shipHomeported in Cartagena, Colombia
The Colombian Navy’s flagship ARC Gloria on June 14, 2024.
PONTUS LUNDAHL/TT NEWS AGENCY/AFP via Getty Images
American Eagle
Type: 123-foot Gloucester fishing schoonerHomeported in Rockland, Maine
The American Eagle schooner.
Whitney Hayward/Portland Portland Press Herald via Getty Images
Juan Bautista Cambiaso
Type: 177-foot, steel-hulled, three-masted barquentineHomeported in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Pioneer
Type: Approximately 102-foot, three-masted schooner Homeported at the South Street Seaport Museum in New York City
BAE Guayas (BE-51)
Type: 257-foot long, steel-hulled, three-masted barqueHomeported in Guayaquil, Ecuador
BAE Guayas
CRIS BOURONCLE/AFP via Getty Images
Liberty Clipper
Type: 125-foot, gaff-rigged schoonerHomeported in Boston, Massachusetts
Liberty Star schooner in Boston Harbour.
Romina Amato / Red Bull via Getty Images / Handout
Belle Poule
Type: 123-foot, two-masted schoonerHomeported in Brest, France
The sailing training ship Belle Poule of the French navy is moored at the Neuer Hafen (New Port) basin.
FOCKE STRANGMANN/AFP via Getty Images
Tuiga
Type: 93-foot, three-masted, wooden-hull racing schoonerHomeported in Monaco
Gorch Fock
Type: 266-foot-long, three-masted barque tall shipHomeported in Kiel, Germany
Gorch Fock
David Hecker / AP
Walross 4
Type: 55-foot sailing yachtHomeported in Berlin, Germany
INS Sudarshini
Type: 177-foot three-masted barque Homeported in Kochi, India
Bowdoin
Type: 88-foot gaff-rigged schoonerHomeported at the Maine Maritime Academy in Castine, Maine
The schooner Bowdoin sails into Portland Harbor during the Tall Ship Parade in Portland, Maine Saturday, July 18, 2015.
Carl D. Walsh/Portland Portland Press Herald via Getty Images
Amerigo Vespucci
Type: 329-foot, full-rigged, three-masted sail training vesselHomeported in La Spezia, Italy
The historic training ship Amerigo Vespucci.
Emanuela Zampa / Getty Images
Adirondack
Type: 65-foot wood-hull schoonerHomeported in New York
BAP Unión
Type: 378-foot, four-masted, steel-hulled sail training ship
Homeported in Callao, Peru
Tabor Bay
Type: 115-foot schoonerHomeported in Marion, Massachusetts
Dar Mlodziezy
Type: 354-foot, three-masted full-rigged shipHomeported at Gdynia Maritime University in Poland
The Polish merchant navy training ship Dar Mlodziezy.
Hauke-Christian Dittrich/picture alliance via Getty Images
When and If
Type: 63.5-foot schoonerHomeported in Key West, Florida (winter) and Salem, Massachusetts (summer)
NRP Sagres
Type: 292-foot, three-masted barque
Homeported in Lisbon, Portugal
Lady Maryland
Type: 104-foot gaff-rigged, wood-hulled pungy topsail schoonerHomeported in Baltimore, Maryland
Mircea
Type: 269-foot, three-masted barqueHomeported in Constanta, Romania
Spanish Navy training ship Juan Sebastian de Elcano
Ricardo Arduengo / AP
Mayan
Type: 65-foot wooden staysail schoonerHomeported in California
Juan Sebastián de Elcano
Type: 371-foot, four-masted topsail, steel-hulled barquentine
Homeported in Cadiz, Spain
HMS Gladan
Type: 129-foot-long, two-masted topsail schoonerHomeported in Karlskrona, Sweden
America 2.0
Type: 105-foot, eco-friendly wooden sailing yachtHomeported in New York City and Key West, Florida
Capitán Miranda
Type: 210-foot, three-masted staysail schoonerHomeported in Montevideo, Uruguay
Uruguayan Navy training sail vessel Capitan Miranda, participating on the Magellan-Elcano Tall Ships Race 2023.
Horacio Villalobos#Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images
Vela
Type: 112-foot, gaff-rigged schoonerHomeported in Virgin Gorda, British Virgin Islands
Elissa
Type: 141-foot three-masted iron-hulled barqueHomeported at Galveston Historic Seaport in Texas
Elissa
Brett Comer/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images
Angelique
Type: 130-foot gaff topsail ketchHomeported in Camden, Maine
The tall ship Angelique passes a set of pilings at Sail Boston’s Parade of Sail event in Boston Harbor.
Nancy Lane/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via Getty Images
Ernestina-Morissey
Type: 156-foot, two-masted schoonerHomeported in New Bedford, Massachusetts
Harvey Gamage
Type: 131-foot, gaff rigged schoonerHomeported in Portland, Maine
Passengers walk along the docks to board the Harvey Gamage.
Portland Press Herald
Denis Sullivan
The schooner Denis Sullivan arrived in Boston Harbor after its voyage.
David L. Ryan/The Boston Globe via Getty Images
Type: 137-foot, three-masted schoonerHomeported in Milwaukee, Wisconsin