The Tall Ships

                                    The Tall Ships   

       It was the Fourth of July in Buffalo, N.Y.. We were sitting by the bike path, that runs along the edge of Buffalo’s outer harbor. The sky was a brilliant blue. It was sunny and a very warm 89 degrees out. On our way in from Tifft St., we passed many thousands of parked cars along the roadway and in various lots clustered around the small boat harbor, Wilkeson point and Gallagher Beach. It was the biggest crowd the area had seen in many years, when “Guns and Roses” had held a concert here.

     The draw for today was the arrival of The Tall Ships. Twelve multi-masted sailing vessels would be gathering, just off the South end of the Buffalo break wall at 2:00 P.M. Then, led by a U.S. Coastguard launch, they would sail, in lineal array, through the south cut of the break wall, along the inner channel to the Buffalo light house, at the entrance to the Buffalo River. Then, they would glide in to canal-side, to a tumultuous and appreciative throng of visitors from everywhere.

     It was unusually hot for the day. Most times, there is a delightful breeze blowing here along the shoreline. You can see the metallic vanes of the giant windmills placed just onshore, near the old Bethlehem Steel complex. They spin gracefully in the breeze and have a futuristic appeal to the eye.

      The crowd was expectant. Frisbees, bicycles and other distractions kept the young ones occupied. We could see clusters of masts from the ships a few hundred yards off shore. Small motor craft of all types powered up and down the channel, seeking close-ups of the sailing vessels. It was a holiday atmosphere amidst the watchers. We had only been sitting here since 1:30 P.M. Many others had arrived up and down the waterfront in the early hours of the morning. Sunscreen and umbrellas for shade were the most needed accompaniments. 

     Finally, near 4:00 P.M, we could see movement amidst the sailing fleet. Gracefully, they lined up in a row and began their slow movement into the inner channel of the outer harbor. We were of the fast-motion generation and literally didn’t understand the lack of speed involved. It was difficult to understand for us that the lack of wind was the cause of their slow procession. I don’t think many of these old ships had auxiliary in board diesels engines. I think the cause and effect of wind-powered loco motion is something that most of us have either never experienced or had forgotten. Inexorably, the sailing craft drifted down the channel. All it would take here is a covering fog and it would appear that these craft were creeping out from the fog-bank of time and into the modern era. The bark Niagara is a replica of a vessel used in the war of 1812.

       As a student of Richard Henry Dana’s “Two Years Before the Mast,” I knew the nomenclature of sails. Mainsail, top-sail sky-sail, one on top of the other, two triangle-shaped jib sails were strung out from the ship’s prow. A flatter “spanker sail” was draped out from the ships aft section. When the wind catches them, they billow out into a white cloud of sail cloth that catches the eye and fires your imagination. Painted gun ports, along the ships side rails, had once held black metal cannon that belched fire and lead at enemy vessels. I have always been amazed at the knowledge of all of the various sheets (ships’s ropes) that were attached to the many points of the sails. Each was known by capable mariners, who could direct the wind catching ability of any sail aloft by shortening or losing the various ropes. And the ability to climb the ship’s rope ladders in a gale, and furl the various sails while swaying back and forth like a pendulum in a heavy wind, defies thinking about.

      At times like these , I think always of my great,great grandfather, Emmanuel Martin. He had been an ocean sailor and ship handler during the mid 1800’s. He must have been at home in ships like these. After he arrived in America, he had been a great lake’s sailor, traversing these storm-tossed waters during all types of weather. ”Iron men in wooden ships” they had been aptly named.

     The crowd sat appreciatively as these sailing vessels glided by. We were witnessing something not often seen on any seas this century. An occasional signal cannon barked from a vessel and startled us. We were witnessing an apparition of our past here. The proud traditions of John Paul Jones, during the American Revolution and Admirals Farragut and Dewey in later years, had sailed in vessels like these and created our history. The fleet of sailing vessels drifted by at a stately pace, headed for the inner harbor at canal side. There they would tie up all along the seawall for four days and allow visitors to board ship and marvel at these relics of a bygone era.

       The sun was frying our “Irish skin” to a crisp in the late afternoon sun. We saddled up the car and headed south to Tifft St. The roadway traffic was jammed. Several thousand cars were trying to get out of the harbor and many thousands were making their way into it for later day fireworks and boating outings. The inbound skyway was closed. The traffic coming into the City, from the south, was backed up for miles. Buffalo Police were on the scene and trying their best to untangle the automotive tangle. We waited patiently and soon were rewarded with moving traffic. The sun had drained us. But, though tired, we carried in our heads the images of these magnificent sailing vessels, their canvases spread aloft like clouds of silken webs. It had been a visit to Buffalo’s nautical past that we would long remember.

                                                   -30-

                                             (992 words)

                                     Joseph Xavier Martin