Q: Who or what is behind Tall Ships Portland 2015?
A: Tall Ships Portland is a Maine-based non-profit recently formed to host a Tall Ships event in Portland the weekend of July 18 to 20, 2015 and to host future events as needed. Tall Ships Portland has been working with the City of Portland and the tall ships association Tall Ships America to plan the event since the summer of 2014. Tall Ships Portland volunteers have been involved with tall ships and tall ships events for over 30 years. The founding volunteers include Alex Agnew, David Wood, Richard Olson, Ken Koehler, Willy Ritch and Hasan Adil.
Q: Why is the event called Tall Ships Portland 2015?
A: Our event partner, Tall Ships America, owns the trademark Tall Ships and they have licensed the rights to use those words for our 2015 event. The two organizations support each other and expect to work together as partners regularly in the future. They are both non-profit membership organizations with similar missions.
Tall Ships Portland has partnered with Tall Ships America as part of their TALL SHIPS CHALLENGE Atlantic Coast 2015 series. Tall Ships America, owns the trademark Tall Ships and they have licensed the rights to use those words for our 2015 event. The two organizations support each other and expect to work together as partners regularly in the future. They are both non-profit membership organizations with similar missions.
The sailing ship logo, Tall Ships, Tall Ships Are Coming!, TALL SHIPS CHALLENGE, Tall Ships America, Adventure and Education Under Sail are registered trademarks and service marks owned by Tall Ships America.
Q: What are the missions of the two organizations?
A: Tall Ships Portland's mission is to provide sailing and maritime related opportunities, education, events and access for sailing activities that promote physical and mental wellness for children and adults without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, age, gender, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation or social or economic status . . . and to enrich the communities in which the corporation operates. The mission of Tall Ships America is to encourage character building through sail training, promote sail training to the North American Public and support education under sail.
Q: When was the last time a fleet of tall ships visited Portland?
The last time a fleet of tall ships visited Portland was in 2000 as part of the Opsail Maine 2000 event. Published reports say over 400,000 people participated in that event. Participants say it was one of the greatest experiences of their lives.
Q: What ever happened to OpSail Maine 2000?
This organization disbanded after the event. The non-profit associated with the event, Maritime Maine, is still in existence. The board of that organization, which has a mission focused on history and tourism, has approved of and supports Tall Ships Portland 2015. The Maritime Maine board has written the following to Tall Ships Portland 2015: "Maritime Maine, the nonprofit organization that was established to celebrate and promote Maine's maritime history and heritage and to welcome the tall ships of the world to Portland through its highly successful OpSail Maine 2000 program, is pleased to support the closely related mission of Tall Ships Portland."
Q: When will the next tall ships event in Portland be?
Tall Ships America, the tall ship association, holds Atlantic Coast Tall Ships events approximately every three years. The next major Atlantic Coast Tall Ships event will be the celebration of Canada's 150th Birthday in Quebec City in 2017. No plans have been made to date regarding the possibility of an event following the Canadian event.
(Tall Ships America organizes the TALL SHIPS CHALLENGE annual series of Tall Ships races and port festivals in partnership with US and Canadian ports on the Atlantic and Pacific Coasts and in the Great Lakes on a 3-year rotating schedule. The next Atlantic Coast TALL SHIPS CHALLENGE series will take place in 2017. A joint event between Tall Ships America and Sail Training International, the Rendez-Vous 2017 Tall Ships Regatta, Quebec-Canada, will bring ships from European host ports to Boston (17-22 June) and then to various ports in Canada and the Gulf of St. Lawrence before arriving in Quebec City in July. From Quebec City the ships will return to Europe in September 2017. Tall Ships America is planning port events along the Atlantic Coast prior to the Boston event. For more information about future series please visit the Tall Ships America website at www.tallshipsamerica.org)