Summer Photo Destination: Sail Boston: 2009

[handicap18]

Thought I'd throw this out to those not only in the New England area but to anyone who might be thinking of something different to do for this upcoming summer.

Sail Boston: 2009 will take place from July 8-13, 2009 in Boston.

IIRC, this is the 4th such event to take place in Boston. The first was in 1976 for the 200th anniversary of the US. There were also such events in 1992 and 2000. I attended both the 1992 and 2000 events. In 1992 I found a spot along the water front for the Parade of Sail and in 2000 I just wandered around over the course of a few days.

As of right now there are 36 confirmed ships ranging in size from 50 feet to 356' and are coming from all over the world.

I certainly plan to make the Parade of Sail on Wednesday July 8th (luckily that is my day off and I plan on being in Boston all day for this).

I've gotten some great pictures in the past. It is certainly a great event to come up to Boston for.

Those of you in the Greater Boston or New England area that are thinking of attending, as it gets closer maybe we can make plans to meet up. I'm as of now, undecided on which area to stake out for the initial Parade. Castle Island will be pretty full by 6 or 7am. I liked wandering around South Boston, especially around the World Trade Center where many of the bigger ships will be berthed for the duration of their stay.

Once the ships are tied up to the pier, they do have open house hours and you can board and tour the ships. That was something I really enjoyed in 2000.

Here is the official link for the event:
http://www.sailboston.com/home.html

here are a few scanned images from the previous events that I took:

I took a bunch of pictures during the 2000 event from one of the water shuttle boats. A few days after the Parade of Sail I jumped on the boat in Quincy and did a round trip into Boston for $5. Great images from the water for real cheep. You can also pick up the boats in Rose Warf or Long Warf and do a round trip for cheep either to Hingham and back or Quincy and back. Because of wake issues, the high speed commuter boats do have to proceed slowly past most of the area where the Tall Ships will be.

Hopefully I'll be able to meet up with a few of you this summer for the great event.

 

[bostran1]

That sounds like a great idea to me. I am definitely in (assuming I'm town on the sail in date). I think the area down by the cruise terminal is a good bet not only to get away from crowds but because it peeks right out into the harbor. It is also accessible by the Silver Line (the worst route on the MBTA!)

 

[boBQuincy]

We attended Opsail 2000 in the Norfolk area, very impressive. We managed to get into Fort Monroe without credentials, probably not possible these days.
If I have any way to get to Boston for the event I will let you know!

 

[sluggozmom]

It looks like I will have to take that week for vacation this year.
Growing up in Winthrop I have been lucky enough to be around for all of these sailing events.

When the JFK was in Boston in 2007, I took the water taxi from the airport.
That too has a number of stops around the harbor.
Short money and I rode all around the harbor for about an hour... taking all kinds of pictures of the waterfront and the JFK

Thanks for the tip!
I will have to make sure I get out there on someones boat.

 

[misscrossbee]

I would love to see this and am planning a trip home to Boston this year but unfortunately not in July - way too hot and humid for me now (I've become acclimated to UK weather, i.e. turned wimpy).

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I was there in 2000, too. The two things I remember are that it was really hot and that my newly-potty-trained DD had to go to the bathroom really bad so she was "holding herself" in some of the pictures. (Ahem, "put the camera down, madam, and take your child to the bathroom!")

ETA I just noticed she was crying in all of the pictures - from the whole day. No wonder I remember it as being stressful, LOL.

 

[zackiedawg]

I enjoyed all those same boats during OpSail 2000 as well, when they visited Miami. Great event, and very cool to explore some of those gorgeous vessels. I still have great affinity for the HMS Rose for the British naval history debates with one of the crew, and the most welcoming crew of the New Zealand vessel Soren Larsen, who I chatted and drank with for hours, and came away with a big bag full of treasure (about 100 coins from all around the southern hemisphere from a fellow foreign coin collector who was serving as cook onboard - no way in the world would I have gotten New Caledonian coins without them!).

Somewhere in my computer I've got a few hundred photos in...get this...1.3MP!!

Enjoy...hope they come around these parts again someday!

 

[DisneydaveCT]

I haven't made it to the previous one, but I think this summer sounds like a possibility. And I like the idea of meeting up with some fellow Dis'ers.

 

[handicap18]

I'm debating renting the Sigma 50-500mm lens for the event. Its not to expensive to rent. $151 for a month (to buy it new is close to $900). Maybe even the Nikkor 80-400 (though its more expensive to rent). Sigma also has a few other lenses that go up to or over 400mm (120-400, 150-500).

I'm thinking that if I (and others that would like to join up) can get into the city early and get a good spot either on Castle Island or someplace in South Boston (around the World Trade Center or Black Falcon Cruise Terminal) we should have a decent open shot down the channel and out to sea. Having a big lens would help get some nice isiolated shots out on the water. Having the 50-500 would also help when the ships get closer.

Just something else to think about.