Excursions:  Greenport's Tall Ships Festival

Greenport really rolled out the red carpet for the Fourth of July Tall Ships festival. Every three to four years the town hosts a tall ships festival, inviting classically built replicas of historic tall ships to visit the maritime town.


                   (New Jersey's A.J. Meerwald)

Thousands of people answered the call to see this year's tall ships, which were quite the spectacle. Five ships were on display most of the weekend, including the A.J. Meerland and Lynx from the U.S., the Kalmar Nyckel from the Netherlands, the Sagres from Portugal and the Picton Castle from Nova Scotia.

Not to be outdone Greenport's restaurants, shops and vendors stepped up to the plate, serving food and specials to keep visitors happy. The scene was crowded in a good way with a large portion of Front Street, Greenport's Main Street shut down to make a pedestrian mall. But the crowds never got overbearing or annoying. The weather also cooperated with an overcast sky that never let it get too hot and more important, never let it rain.


     (The crowds were there, but Front Street wasn't crowded)

I was able to get onboard all five ships for a quick look around. I was most impressed with the Kalmar Nyckel. It had the look of a classic pirate ship with the outside covered with small, decorative gargoyles and the whole ship painted very colorfully.


                             (The Kalmar Nyckel)

The festival was a perfect day to be a solo tourista. I love exploring a place on my own, I know that sounds mean, but sometimes not having to wait for someone else or hang around exhibits that hold no interest is a great way to see a lot of things in a short amount of time. Hmm, solo touristing, has anyone coined that yet?


      (Crew members climb the sail rigs of the Picton Castle)

For lunch I ate at Salamander's. I'd been meaning to sample their popular fried chicken for quite a while, but could never seem to find them when I was in Greenport. They used to be on some small side street, but now that they're front and center at 38 Front Street, I grabbed a table and dug into a two-piece fried chicken platter with french fries, purple slaw and cornbread. Washed it down with a glass of their "famous" lemonade. So good! A lot of people were ordering Salamander's fried chicken to go and having picnics out on Mitchell Park's large green lawn. A great way to enjoy the event.


    (Salamander's fried chicken with fries, slaw & cornbread)

The highly anticipated French ship Hermoine didn't arrive in Greenport until the end of the holiday weekend on Monday. I heard it was great, but I didn't want to come back. Definately looking forward to Greenport's next Tall Ships Festival in the coming years.


                          (The Portugese ship Sagres)