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If you thought New York had already done every conceivable version of a July 4th spectacle, Sail4th 250 is here to prove otherwise. Pegged to the 250th anniversary of the United States, this five-day, city-spanning blowout running July 3–7 is being billed as the largest maritime gathering in the country’s history.
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Naturally enough, the centerpiece comes on July 4, when 48 towering sailing vessels from 20 countries glide into New York Harbor in an International Parade of Sail. The route ambles from under the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, past the Statue of Liberty and up the Hudson River toward the George Washington Bridge. Look for ships to pass at roughly six-minute intervals, which lets you choose how much time you spend staring at the water.
And the boats are just the beginning. Anchored along the Hudson will be an International Naval Review—the seventh ever hosted in the U.S.—featuring American and allied military vessels, while overhead, more than 100 aircraft (including the Blue Angels) will turn the skyline into its own kind of stage. At nightfall, the harbor shifts again for the Macy’s Fourth of July Fireworks, which marks its 50th anniversary this year. Even Queen Mary 2 is expected to sit at anchor for the festivities.
The full experience will encompass 46 nations, roughly 15,000 sailors and service members in port and an estimated 6 million spectators lining 15 miles of shoreline across New York and New Jersey. The last time the city pulled off something comparable was for the 1976 Bicentennial, when another Operation Sail event essentially turned the harbor into a floating United Nations.
If you’re looking for a way in that doesn’t involve staking out a patch of waterfront at dawn, the days following the main event may be your best bet. From July 5–7, many of the visiting ships will open to the public at various berths around the harbor, offering visitors the rare chance to step aboard vessels that, technically speaking, count as foreign soil.
It’s easy to roll your eyes at anything branded with a name like “Semiquincentennial,” but Sail4th 250 makes a persuasive case for going big. In NYC, a parade of nearly 50 tall ships sailing past the Statue of Liberty might be the rare event that actually lives up to the hype.