For six days, Boston looked like the maritime hub of the 1850s, with wooden masts grazing the sky and sails carrying ships through the harbor. On Saturday, Sail Boston’s Grand Parade of Sail saw 54 Tall Ships from 14 countries on display as they traveled from Charlestown north through the Boston Harbor, before docking throughout the Seaport District and south along the coast.

Her Majesty’s Canadian Ship Oriole IV was sixth in the parade, just behind another Canadian ship, the Bluenose II. The sailing ketch, which is also the longest-serving commissioned ship in the Royal Canadian Navy, berthed at Fan Pier along with 20 other ships, where it remained through Wednesday.

Fog on Saturday gave way to unexpected sunshine on Sunday, as thousands of visitors crowded into the Seaport District to board the Tall Ships.

“It’s nice that the weather decided to participate today,” Lt. Tom Eagle, executive officer of the Oriole, said on Sunday afternoon. “A little bit hot. We’re still used to the Caribbean, so this isn’t that bad.”

Many of the spectators were Bay Staters who had driven into the capital, parents with children in tow to behold the maritime spectacle, and visitors as international as the ships themselves, evidenced by the number of languages spoken on the docks.

“The line here is crazy,” Eagle said. “I didn’t expect it to be so big.” The air was populated, too, as helicopters whirred above the harbor.
Oriole wheel workings
Eagle said visitors so far had shown genuine interest in the ship’s crafting and history, in keeping with the mission of the Oriole. He lifted a hatch cover just behind the ship’s wheel to reveal an inscription from when the ship was originally built: “Boston, Mass.”

“The point of this ship is we travel with training members of the Canadian forces and do strategic outreach,” Eagle said.

As previously reported by the Reporter, the Oriole was built by George Lawley, of Port Norfolk shipbuilding firm George Lawley & Son, using blueprints from famous yacht designer and Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor of naval architecture George Owen, whose family has lasting ties to Boston.

Construction on the Oriole began in Toronto at Toronto Dominion Shipbuilding Company, but after labor troubles closed the yard, the majority of the ship was completed in Boston.

Unfortunately, Eagle said, the Oriole had not been able to visit the Port Norfolk area on its journey. The ship arrived in Massachusetts on Sunday, June 11, at the Boston Yacht Club in Marblehead.

“The reception at Marblehead was top notch,” Eagle said. “We showed up at the Boston Yacht Club, and they were just the best hosts ever.”

The club’s general manager, Britony Wells, said some of the sailors aboard the Oriole were invited onto Boston Yacht Club members’ boats to partake in races last Wednesday evening. Wells and her staff had intended to have the sailing ketch return to Marblehead on Thursday, June 22, but predicted windy weather deterred their plans.

“It was very nice to have them,” Wells said. “We like our Canadian friends.”

Before docking in Massachusetts, Eagle and the Oriole crew had most recently made a port of call at Bermuda, one of the most isolated places in the world. Eagle said it was “very nice to be in civilization.”

“We have like five days alongside with a major city,” Eagle said, noting that he was anticipating a crew party on Sunday and “a couple receptions” throughout the week.

The Oriole celebrated its 96th birthday on Wednesday. It is set to depart for Quebec City on Thursday. The ship will be visiting nine cities in four provinces during the Rendez-vous 2017 festival to connect with Canadians, according to a statement from the Canadian Department of National Defence.