Dockside Tours - Duluth Tall Ships Festival

The Sailing Vessel "The Peacemaker" passes the Duluth Shipping Canal lighthouse as part of the Duluth Tall Ships Festival Parade of Sails.

Interested in attending the 2022 Tall Ships Festival in Two Harbors?

This article will give you an idea of what it is like to tour the inside of two Tall Ships: US Brig Niagara and The Peacemaker.

In Late July, 2013 Jo, Donna, and I spent 3 days in Duluth enjoying the Tall Ships Fest.

On Thursday we enjoyed watching the Parade of Sails (see the parade). We got there early to reserve space out the end of the breakwater so we'd have a "front row" seat for the parade. While dark clouds were on the horizon, the day remained sunny and a comfortable 70's temperature. The wait was worth it.

On Friday, we had purchased tickets for dockside tours. The day started out quite cool with rain but fortunately it let up in time for the tours. We had wanted to tour the SS Sørlandet but despite the rain the waiting line had grown to two hours by the time we arrived. So we choose our next favorite ship, the US Brig Niagara, a replica of a Baltimore Clipper style tall ship of the same name that fought in the War of 1812. After that tour we got in line to tour The Peacemaker, an unusual looking tall ship that has an equally unusual ownership and mission.

Ten Tall Ships were scheduled to participate in the four day event but one ship was damaged earlier in a storm and was unable to sail to Duluth so again nine ships were in attendance.

Returning from the 2010 Tall Ships Festival were:

• Flagship Niagara
• Pride of Baltimore II
• S/V Denis Sullivan
• Zeeto
• Coaster II

New for this year's Tall Ships Festival were:

• SS Sørlandet
• Peacemaker
• Schooner Hindu
• Schooner Halie and Matthew (unfortunately a no-show due to damage from a recent lightning strike)
• Privateer Lynx

You can see pictures and our profiles of these ships at our 2013 Tall Ships Duluth page.

You can see pictures and information on the Tall hips' previous visit to Duluth on our 2010 Tall Ships Duluth page.

On Board the Tall Ships

On Board the US Brig Niagara

The U.S. Brig Niagara is two masted Brig with a total length of 198 feet and a beam of 32 feet. She is a reconstruction of Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry's victorious 1813 warship and flagship that participated in the Battle of Lake Erie and the War of 1812.

In addition to seeing this magnificent ship up close, touring yhe Brig Niagara allowed us to experience a taste of the life of a sailing ship crew member 200 years ago. The captain's console was quite basic, a compass and a place to roll out navigational maps, and was immediately ahead of the massive hand-operated tiller. Crew members slept on hammocks below deck where only a 4 foot high person would stand up straight. Massive ropes were coiled everywhere and 24 foot oars stored in the sidewalls and in overhead racks.

 

Learn more about the US Brig Niagara on its website.

On Baord The Peacemaker Sailing Ship

The Peacemaker was the most unusual ship participating in the Tall Ships Festival and it also has the most unusual ownership. Originally built in Brazil for a Brazilian industrialist as a pleasure motor yacht. The ship was launched in 1989 and later brought to Palmer-Johnson Boatyard with the intention to convert it into a sailing ship. But repairs were never commenced and it lanquished there at the boatyard for twenty years until it was purchased by the Twelve Tribes, a Christian-based artisan organization with local communities in the United States and eight other countries. Members of the community refurbished the vessel and completed the conversion to a Barguentine Sailing Vessel.

 

The ship provides practical education for the community's youth in numerous skills associated with operating and maintaining the vessel as well as laboratory for teamwork and cross-cultural awareness obtained in its travels from port to port.

 

Learn more about the Peacemaker on its website.

Peacemaker Bus

The Peacemaker Bus accompanies the sailing ship on its tours of the Great Lakes. It is another project of the Twelve Tribes artisans who took parts of a 1955 GMC Scenicruiser and a 1949 General American Aerocoach to meld them into a modern day, fully functional motor home.

 

The interior is finished with warm hardwoods similar to that of the sailing ship.

 

Learn more about the Peacemaker Bus on its website.

More pictures on our 2013 Tall Ships Duluth page.

Pictures and Article from 2010 Tall Ships Festival

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