President John F. Kennedy, an ardent sailor, endorsed the idea brought to him by a group of New Yorkers wanting to add luster to the 1964 World’s Fair. He presented an official letter on White House stationery. U.S. Navy leadership and the OpSail committee contacted the dwindling number of tall ships of the world and invited them to New York for July 14, 1964. President Lyndon Johnson endorsed the program after Kennedy’s death in 1963. A monumental amount of work resulted in a memorable and rare event with 12 tall ships and 11 smaller sailing vessels. That became the revival of tall ship events around the world.
Planning for America’s Bicentennial began long before 1976, with a tall ship event in New York part of the vision. President Gerald R. Ford endorsed the idea and on July 4 stood on the deck of the aircraft carrier USS Forrestal for the Parade of Sail, with 16 tall ships, as well as an International Naval Review.
That set the pattern: patriotic American milestones would be celebrated with tall ship parades in New York Harbor.
The centennial of the Statue of Liberty in 1986 drew a letter of support and a personal appearance from President Ronald Reagan, who became the reviewing officer from the battleship USS Iowa as 22 tall ships passed in review.
By 1992, the 500th anniversary of the voyages of discovery by Christopher Columbus, more nations wanted to showcase their tall ships. President George H.W. Bush endorsed the plan and 28 tall ships paraded up the Hudson River. Bush wrote an official letter to commemorate the Age of Discovery.
For the Millennium celebration in 2000, President Bill Clinton lent his support – and then spent what he called the best day of his Presidency onboard the USS JOHN F. KENNEDY in New York Harbor as several dozen tall ships and an INR passed in review on July 4.
The bicentennial of The Star-Spangled Banner (written in the midst of the War of 1812) drew a letter of support from President Barack Obama and expanded the reach of OpSail to five ports. The capstone event was in New York on May 23 and featured 17 tall ships parading up the Hudson.
In keeping with that tradition, President Donald Trump and his wife Melania have signed a warm and gracious letter welcoming the tall ships to New York for America’s 250th Birthday in 2026. More large tall ships will participate than in any previous commemoration.
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