Festival of Sail

In which we yearn for the spray in our face and the wind at our back

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San Francisco's Festival of Sail opened today with a parade of tall ships through the Golden Gate. I caught up with the procession near the Ferry Building.

The U.S. Coast Guard's Eagle with all three masts under full sail and pulling well on a broad reach, a sight so breathtaking I nearly wept.

U.S. Coast Guard Cutter, Eagle
Rig: Barque
Homeport city: New London, Connecticut
Year built: 1936
Shipyard: Hamburg, Germany
Tonnage: 1,800 tons
Power: Sail
Length Over All: 295'
Sail area: 21,000 sq. ft.
Crew complement: 54

Good back story on this ship. It was originally built in Germany, christened the Horst Wessel, in 1936, and comes to the U.S. Coast Guard as spoils of war.

The Californian fires her guns in salute, the report coming over the water like a thump on the chest.

One of San Francisco's fire boats -- the Phoenix -- salutes the parade of ships.

A replica of the Nina, one of the ships that sailed with Columbus on the Voyage of Discovery.