Tall Ships in Newport

Just one great event after another this summer!  The America's Cup in town, and now the Tall Ships just after the Fourth of July.  That's right, the Tall Ships Festival was in Newport this past weekend, and certainly made it difficult to get to downtown Newport within a reasonable time frame.  The streets were packed with families, visitors and even locals checking out the festivities and old ships from an era of sailing that is long past.  These beautiful vessels are always gorgeous to look at.  Little kids are yelling in excitement about pirates, salty sailors are checking out the square rigs... they never cease to interest or amaze a crowd.  And especially since this festival doesn't happen every year, there is always a swarm of interested people eager to see them or get aboard for a day sail while they're in port.  All of this aged Tall Ships has their own interesting history, and probably one of the most well known is the HMS Bounty which played a leading role in the Russel Crow movie "Master and Commander".  While I didn't get to check out the whole festival or cool dockside events, I did make it out on the water on Monday to see the Parade of Sail, as all the ships lined up and sailed throughout Newport Harbor before heading back out to sea.