Tall ships to sail into San Diego Bay July 13
By Ray Huard
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
May 20, 1999
SAN DIEGO -- A fleet of tall ships from six countries
is scheduled
to sail into San Diego Bay this summer to launch what
Mayor
Susan Golding said will be a week-long "festival of
sail."
"Imagine the excitement," Golding said. "We've got
ships coming
literally from all over the world."
The festival was organized after lack of money canceled
plans for
a tall-ship race from San Francisco to San Diego. The
race was to
have been part of the three-year celebration honoring
the 150th
anniversary of California's statehood.
California was the 31st state in the Union, joining
Sept. 9, 1850.
San Diego's festival is co-sponsored by the San Diego
Maritime
Museum and the San Diego Unified Port District, Golding
said.
The mayor said private contributions are being sought
to cover
the approximate $120,000 cost. She said no city money
will be
involved.
The city decided to proceed with its part of the
canceled state
event, Golding said, because "there was a lot of
enthusiasm for it
and it was one of those events that make sense" for
this city.
"It will be a lot of fun for San Diegans, and it's a
good tourist
event," the mayor said.
Among the tall ships scheduled to participate are the
U.S. Coast
Guard barge Eagle, the Indonesian barquentine Dewaruci,
the
Japanese four-masted barque Kalwo Maru, the Ecuadorian
barque Guayas, the Canadian barquentine Concordia and
the
Columbian barque Gloria.
They will be joined by the Maritime Museum's
square-rigged
barque, the Star of India.
At least eight smaller sailing ships also are scheduled
to join the
water parade.
The plan is for the ships to gather off Point Loma the
morning of
July 13 and sail into San Diego Bay. They will tie up
along the
North Embarcadero near the Maritime Museum.
Many of the smaller ships are to engage in mock gun
battles on
the bay during the weekend.
Also, the ships will be open for public tours. Details
of other
activities were unavailable yesterday.
:)
Steve Barnes, now a lurker, sailing a Capri-16, #74, in San Diego.
(former WWP-14 skipper)
OLDSURFDUDE