The price for admission is very reasonable. A “passport” system has been created that will allow each visitor admission to the festival for all 4 days, plus 1 tour of each of the participating vessels (it does not appear that the Appledore cruises will be included as part of this admission price). The cost of the passport is advertised at $12 if purchased early and $15 if purchased after July 1. This works out to under $5 a day if you stay for all 4 days, which is much less than the cost of a movie ticket and even if you stay for only 1 day the cost is less than the cost of admission to an amusement park.

For those who want to visit the festivities, but don’t want to tour the ships a 1 day ticket can be purchased for $6.

What kind of festivities are there? Well, in addition to tours and rides, Tall Ship festivals usually include demonstrations, contests and theater presentations. Bay City is no different, and has contracted with the Ring of Steel Pirate School to offer stage performances, discuss sea-based crafts and demonstrate pirate games.

The International Maritime Music Festival will also be held during the Tall Ships Celebration, giving attendees the opportunity to listen to the music that was popular aboard these ships when they were still the world’s dominant form of international transportation.

The ships expected to arrive in the fleet, include the Amistad, a 129 foot Topsail Schooner based in New Haven, Connecticut; the Denis Sullivan, a 137 foot 3-Masted Schooner based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin; the HMS bounty, a 180 foot Full-Rigged ship sailing from Greenport, Long Island, New York; the Madeline, a 92 foot Gaff Topsail Schooner that calls Traverse City, Michigan its home; the Pathfinder, a 72 foot Bragantine from Toronto, Ontario, Canada; the Playfair, another Bragantine from Toronto with a length of 72 feet; the Pride of Baltimore II a 170 foot long Square Topsail Schooner from Baltimore, Maryland; the Roald Amundsen, a 165 foot Brig that will come all the way from Eckernforde, Germany; the Roseway, a 137 foot schooner from St, Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands; and the Appledore IV and Appledore V which are based in Bay City and will meet the fleet when it arrives.

The HMS Bounty and the Pride of Baltimore II each carry over 10,000 square feet of sail and the Roald Amundsen carries over 9,000 square feet. These are not the little sailboats you see on inland lakes, these are the real thing, ocean going ships now cruising the Great Lakes.

Lovers of Tall Ships and Great Lakes cruises will all find something of interest at the Bay City Tall Ship Celebration. Music, theater, history, art and a whole lot more are waiting for the cost of a $15 admission. This is only the 4th time in 10 years that Bay City has hosted such a festival, so it is not something to be missed.

The Midwest U.S., will have a close encounter with history when a fleet of 20 to 25 tall ships is expected to arrive in Chicago, Illinois on August 24th to 29th to take part in the “International Parade of Sail.” Chicago is the last stop in a race from one end of the Great Lakes to the other that these ships are participating in.

A wide variety of tall ships will take part in the parade, and some are from as far away as Europe.

Known to be invited are the Amistad from New Haven, Connecticut; the Bluenose II from Lunenburg, Nova Scotia; the HMS Bounty from Greenport, New York, the S/V Denis Sullivan from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the Friends Good Will from South Haven, Michigan, the Highlander Sea from Port Huron, Michigan, the U.S. Brig Niagara from Erie, Pennsylvania, the Pride of Baltimore II, from Baltimore, Maryland and the Roald Amundsen, from Germany. These are just a few of the ships that are expected to finish their Great Lakes cruises in Chicago, and they should provide a good show for everyone.

The tall ships will arrive in Chicago on August 24th and on the 25th, the festival will start. Organizers are promising international music, ship exhibits, crew challenges, arts and crafts, maritime displays, and boat building displays. Plus, nightly fireworks, and almost everybody likes fireworks. In addition, these types of festivals allow you to go on board these amazing ships for tours, lectures and other events, and there are often opportunities to take short Lakes cruises on the ships.

General admission for this event is reportedly $15 to $25 per person and discounts are available for groups of 20 or more. Bus parking is available off site.

This is an amazing opportunity to step back in time and view these marvelous machines close up. Lovers of Great Lakes cruises and lovers of adventure both will want to take part.

All of this will be held at Navy Pier which provides ample parking and space for visitors. A number of other cruise providers operate from Navy Pier offering Great Lakes cruises on a year around basis. There are also several sail driven ships that make Chicago home including The Red Witch.

The festival includes schooner rides, of course, and also features artisans, musicians, live pirate re-enactments, displays, and education exhibits. The Welcome, a replica of a British armed sloop from the War of 1812 will be giving cannon demonstrations throughout the day on Saturday beginning at 12 noon. There is also a pirate and pancake breakfast for those who rise early on Saturday.

Tickets are $5 for adults and children. For the price of admission, children are also given 5 free tickets for carnival games. The tickets get you admission to the festival and tours of the three ships that are docked. It appears that the sloop Welcome and the schooner Madeline are among the three docked ships.

The ships on display will include those from the Maritime Heritage Alliance, including: the Welcome, an armed sloop, the Champion, a cutter, the Madeline a schooner and the Arcturos and the Gracie L.

Inland Seas Education Association will also be present and will show off their ship the Inland Seas. Bay Sail from Bay City will arrive with their ship Appledore V. And, Pier Wisconsin will show the ship S/V Denis Sullivan.

That should be enough schooners for almost anyone, but there is always the possibility of other ships dropping in for the festivities. Traverse Bay is also the home of another tall ship, the Manitou which may be on hand, but is not listed on the official roster for this season.

Schooner rides will be offered for $40 starting at 10am. Great Lakes cruises on schooners are all considered small ship cruises. Compare the 50 to 100 passenger sizes of these schooners against the 500 plus passenger sizes of ocean going cruise ships and it is easy to see why these are rated as small ship cruises. Even so, these schooners are not the small little sailboats that you see coasting across the lake. These are vessels large enough to carry passengers in comfort and safety. They are well worth coming to see and are an excellent educational experience for teens, tweens and youngers.

For those unfamiliar with Traverse City, it is located in the Northeastern corner of Michigan’s lower peninsula. The city sits on the south shore of Grand Traverse bay, which has played the role of one of the more important ports in the lower peninsula for many years. This is the location the Great Lakes Maritime Academy and the port for the State of Michigan, a 160 foot ship the school maintains and uses for educational training cruises.

If you’ve given any thought to a Great Lakes cruise, a schooner cruise, a tall ship cruise or just a small ship cruise and you are anywhere near Traverse City Michigan, you might want to visit this event. If you miss it this year, mark your calendar and catch it next year. All of the proceeds go to helping preserve these fine ships and the history that goes with them. A history that belongs not only to all of us, but to our children as well.