Land Ho! The Tall Ships are returning to the Cleveland coast this summer

Tuesday, March 01, 2022
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After almost three years of still waters, keep your eyes on the horizon over Lake Erie this summer, as the Tall Ships Festival is returning to Cleveland this summer.

<span class="content-image-text">A shipmate precariously works on the rigging on The Flagship Niagara</span>A shipmate precariously works on the rigging on The Flagship NiagaraDowntown Cleveland Alliance and Tall Ships America announced yesterday, Monday, Feb. 28 that eight tall ships from Canada, the United States, and Spain that make up the 2022 Fleet —Appledore IV; Empire Sandy; Inland Seas, Nao Trinidad from Huelva, Spain, Pride of Baltimore II; St. Lawrence II; U.S. Brig Niagara; and Utopia— will come to Cleveland Thursday, July 7 through Sunday, July 10.


The Tall Ships have not been to Cleveland since 2019 and these eight replica and restored ships will be docked at the north side of First Energy Stadium

The Bay City, Michigan-based schooner Appledore IV is owned and operated by nonprofit BaySail, which since 1998 has served more than 40,000 students with educational programming and a mission to “foster environmental stewardship of the Saginaw Bay watershed and the Great Lakes ecosystem and to provide personal development opportunities for learners of all ages through shipboard and land-based educational experiences.”

The Flagship U.S. Brig Niagara is one of the most historically authentic tall ships in the United States. As an accurate reproduction of Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry’s victorious flagship from the War of 1812’s Battle of Lake Erie, the ship represents both Pennsylvania and her homeport of Erie in ports throughout the Great Lakes. The ship currently offers three educational programs—including educational day sails, an individual trainee program, and for-credit high school and college programs.

Niagara’s day sail program allows the public to sail for an afternoon or evening and experience the life of a sailor. The individual training program integrates trainees into the regular crew for two to three weeks.

Cleveland’s own U.S.S. Cod, which returned to Cleveland in August from undergoing repairs in Erie, Pennsylvania, and the Putzfrau, which returned more than a year ago to the Cuyahoga River to perform cleanup work, will also be featured at the festival.