By Gus Saltonstall
Upper West Siders can head into Riverside Park this weekend to watch a parade of tall ships make their way up the Hudson River in celebration of America’s 250th anniversary.
The tall ships parade is part of the Sail4th 250 event and follows in the tradition of the 1976 Bicentennial, the 2000 Millennium celebration, and the 2012 Star-Spangled Banner Bicentennial, when American and international boats and sailors come together along New York City’s waterways.
On Saturday, “The International Parade of Sail” will take place with a fleet of vessels ranging from 161 to 378 feet traveling under the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, past the Statue of Liberty, and up the Hudson River to the George Washington Bridge.
This journey of vessels will happen from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., and Upper West Siders can head into different areas of Riverside Park South and Riverside Park to watch the boats go by. For those who want to watch in a more official capacity, there are designated watch points along the West Side Highway at 55th, 44th, 24th, and 11th streets, which will include bag checks and security screenings.
Here are the five largest ships set to take part in the parade, according to The New York Times.
- The BAP Union from Peru: 378 feet
- The Esmeralda from Chile: 371 feet
- The Juan Sebastian de Elcano: 371 feet
- The Dar Mlodziezy from Poland: 354 feet
- ARA Libertad from Argentina: 340 feet
On the same day, there will be the International Naval Review, where nearly 40 U.S. and Allied naval boats from more than 20 countries will anchor along different points of the Hudson River.
At 10:15 a.m. on Saturday, there will also be the International Aerial Review in the sky, where more than 150 aircrafts will fly over the parade.
If you want even more boat action, and don’t mind crossing the park, on Friday there will be the Preliminary Tall Ship Parade featuring slightly smaller vessels traveling down the East River from 1 to 4 p.m.
You can find out more about all of the events — HERE.
Please send in photos to info@westsiderag.com of the boats traveling along the Hudson River on Saturday.
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Cross the park??? Perish the thought!
Indeed! Im fine with the tall ships!
The “preliminary parade” of smaller boats makes me laugh.
In the east river… pfft. Those guys.
Gus, is there a list of boats in the order they will proceed?
The New York Times has the list, but not the order
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/02/nyregion/tall-ships-parade-nyc.html
Again, why is the info on this so terrible? The harbormaster knows exactly when each ship will sail. Why not tell us? Is it a security thing?
The security issue never occurred to me. That could be it.
Please rewrite the article title so it makes sense. Thanks.
Good edit.
I have friends from Westchester coming in to see the parade, and it’s been maddening to try to get info about this. The Sail4th website is dedicated to paid events, and every publication that promotes it cites 9:30-2:00 as if that tells us anything about when we can expect to see the ships along the UWS.
New York Magazine had a bit more info. It said they’ll leave lower New York harbor at the Verrazano bridge in six minute intervals, with a preset, very specific positioning and rate of speed. So we estimate arrival at, say, 90th st., at about 12 noon. But honestly, if the harbormaster knows where and when the ships will be, why not tell the public??
Also, the parade ends at the GWB at 2:00. But unless they are spending the night in Yonkers, the ships must be turning around and sailing back down the river. Some of them are part of the July 5th on-board tours event. So UWS viewers should be able to see ships pretty much from about 11-4:00.
Which is all to say: it’s a big event. Why so little detail?
I was wondering about them going south too. They won’t fit under the bridges on the Harlem River, so the can’t go around Manhattan to get back. Though they may be returning to their moorings all along the Hudson in NY and NJ, so the whole fleet won’t parade all along the Manhattan shoreline heading south.
Back in 1986 during OpSail for the 100th anniversary of the Statue of Liberty, the tall ships looped back after reaching the GWB. The ships traveled much closer to the Jersey side (where the Hudson is deeper) to and from the GWB, so the best viewing was from NJ rather than Riverside Park.
Well, since it starts at the Verrazano and “ends” at the GWB, it’s a pretty fair bet that the UWS will offer prime viewing between 12:30 and 2…
West Harlem Piers Park near 125th where Fairway used to be should be another good spot for viewing. Maybe less crowded.
What about the Vespucci from Italy?
What about it?
Are there places in Riverside Park that you recommend?
Why is the clippers sails full and the flag is flying against the wind? It defies the laws of physics. 😂😅. The wind is filling the sails and the flag is flying in the opposite direction. Regardless, tall ships are cool! I’m going to try to make it!
They are just beautiful!—and flyovers too!