Liberty Fleet of Tall Ships

Welcome to the dock of the Liberty Fleet of Tall Ships. I invite you to step out of the hyper accelerated, digitally driven twenty first century and immerse yourself in the profound, analog reality of the age of sail. …

As you step upon the wooden deck, look directly upward. The chaotic tangle of ropes and cables you see is, in fact, a highly ordered, meticulously designed system known as the rigging. …

Let us now analyze the fundamental mechanics of propulsion. The moment the deck crew hauls on the halyards and the heavy canvas sails are raised, catching the breeze, you will feel a profound, sudden shift in the vessel's…

As we walk forward toward the bow of the ship, take note of any large, cylindrical wooden or metal winch mounted vertically into the deck. This mechanism is known as the capstan. …

To truly appreciate the context of historic tall ships, we must understand the rigid social hierarchy and strict measurement of time that governed daily life aboard. A ship at sea was a profoundly isolated microcosm of society,…

As our schooner glides over the waters of Boston Harbor, we are traversing an incredibly complex underwater landscape. Look over the rail at the dark water; it reveals nothing of the submerged ledges, glacial moraines, and…

If our course brings us toward the inner harbor and the mouth of the Charles River, we enter the waters adjacent to the historic Charlestown Navy Yard. It is here that one of the most significant artifacts of American naval…

As the crew begins the strenuous process of lowering the canvas, and the sharp cracking of the sails softens into the quiet hum of our return to the dock, let us pause to reflect upon the immense historical continuum we have…