In June 2026, Sail250® Virginia will welcome a fleet of international and U.S. tall ships, historic character vessels, and modern military ships to Hampton Roads and Virginia’s Chesapeake Bay region. More than 60 ships from 20 countries are expected to participate, helping us commemorate America’s 250th anniversary. There is unprecedented interest in this event, and we are excited to share with you the ships already committed to participating. Be sure to check back as the list of participating ships will be updated regularly!
The ESMERALDA was built in Cadiz, Spain, originally for the Spanish Navy. An explosion and fire damaged the ship and sent the yard into near bankruptcy. The governments of Spain and Chile arranged a deal to transfer ownership of the vessel to Chile in return for forgiving loans owed from the Spanish Civil War. Work resumed and the barquentine was commissioned in 1953. ESMERALDA now sails as the sail training vessel of the Chilean Navy and as an ambassador for her country. ESMERALDA will be in Norfolk as part of Sail250® Virginia June 19-23, 2026.
The three masted barque, GLORIA, is the sail training vessel of the Colombian Navy. Built in Spain, it was commissioned on September 7, 1968. GLORIA regularly attends tall ship events and regattas as an international ambassador for Colombia. During voyages, Colombian naval cadets are trained in leadership, navigation, and seamanship. GLORIA will be in Norfolk as part of Sail250® Virginia, June 19-23, 2026.
The PICTON CASTLE is a blue water sailing vessel that has made multiple circumnavigations. Originally built as a Welsh trawler in the fishing industry, she was converted to a British minesweeper during World War II, sailed in the North Sea and Baltic cargo trade following the war, and was converted into a sailing barque in the 1990s. PICTON CASTLE will participate in Sail Yorktown FestivalJune 12-14, 2026, and Sail250® Virginiain Norfolk June 19-23, 2026. You can learn more about the ship and the PICTON CASTLE's programs here - https://picton-castle.com/
Ecuador’s sail training vessel, GUAYAS, is a three masted barque built in Spain and commissioned on July 23, 1977. The ship serves as an international ambassador for Ecuador, while training naval cadets during extended voyages throughout the world. It is a regular participant in tall ship events and has sailed throughout North and South America, Asia, and Australia. GUAYAS will be in Norfolk as part of Sail250® Virginia June 19-23, 2026.
Germany’s three masted barque, GORCH FOCK, was commissioned on December 17, 1968. The vessel was built in Hamburg’s Blohm & Voss shipyard and named after the German writer Johann Kinau, who used “Gorch Fock” as a pseudonym. The ship sails for the German Navy, the Deutche Marine, training naval cadets during voyages throughout the world. GORCH FOCK will be in Norfolk as part of Sail250® Virginia June 19-23, 2026.
SUDARSHINI is a sail training vessel of the Indian Navy and was built in 2011-2012. The ship is a floating ambassador for India while simultaneously providing an educational platform for naval cadets undertaking seamanship and navigation training. The barque has sailed extensively throughout southeast Asia. SUDARSHINI will be in Norfolk as part of Sail250® Virginia June 19-23, 2026.
OOSTERSCHELDE is homeported in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. The square topsail schooner was built in 1918 as a cargo vessel. The schooner underwent a major rebuild between 1996-1998 and has since made numerous long voyages, including a circumnavigation between 2012-2014. Between
2024-2025, OOSTERSCHELDE again sailed the world, following the route of Charles Darwin’s voyage on the BEAGLE. OOSTERSCHELDE will participate in the Richmond SailFest June 12-14, 2026, and in Norfolk as part of Sail250® VirginiaJune 19-23, 2026. To learn more about the ship and their programs, visit - https://www.dutchtallship.com/oosterschelde/.
Peru’s tall ship, BAP UNIÓN, is one of the world’s newest sail training vessels. The vessel is a four masted barque, which had its keel laid on December 8, 2012. It was commissioned on January 27, 2016, and has since sailed both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans with cadets from Peru’s navy. Like many tall ships, it serves as an ambassador for its country during these voyages. BAP UNIÓN will be in Norfolk June 19-23, 2026 as part of Sail250® Virginia.
NMS MIRCEA was built at the Blohm and Voss Shipyard in Hamburg, Germany for the Romanian Navy in 1938. During World War II, the vessel was captured by the USSR and kept as a war reparation, before being returned to Romania in 1946. MIRCEA is a barque – three masts, with square sails on the fore and main masts and fore and aft sails on the mizzen (aft most) mast. The barque sails as the official vessel of the Romanian Navy and has participated in numerous sail training festivals and races throughout the world, including the 1976 U.S. Bicentennial in New York harbor and more recent festivals across Europe. The MIRCEA is the sister ship of the USCG barque EAGLE, the SAGRES from Portugal, and the GORCH FOCK from Germany. MIRCEA will be in Norfolk June 19-23, 2026 as part of Sail250® Virginia.
Sweden
The Swedish Navy has confirmed participation with one of their two sail training tall ships, to be named at a future date. The Swedish ship will be in Norfolk as part of Sail250® Virginia between June 19-23, 2026.
A.J. MEERWALD is the official tall ship of New Jersey and an original Delaware Bay oyster schooner, which built in 1928. Today, the schooner sails as an educational platform, focusing on environmental education. A.J. MEERWALD will be participating in SailFest Cape Charles, June 19-21, 2026. To learn more about the ship and its programs, visit - https://www.bayshorecenter.org/our-ship/
The GAZELA PRIMEIRO was built in Setubal, Portugal in 1901 for the Grand Banks fishing industry. With a crew of about 40 men and about 35 dories, a type of small rowed fishing boat, the GAZELLA spent months each year on the Grand Banks. The ship would harvest up to 350 tons of fish, salting the cod down to preserve it during the remainder of the voyage. GAZELA's last voyage to the Grad Banks took place in 1969. Today, the ship lives in Philadelphia, PA and sails with a crew of volunteers to maritime festivals on the East Coast. GAZELA will participate in Alexandria's Sails on the Potomac June 12-14, 2026. To learn more about GAZELA, visit - https://www.philashipguild.org/our-ships
GODSPEED is a recreation of one of the three ships that brought the first permanent English settlers in North America to Jamestown, VA in May 1607. The ship is part of Jamestown Settlement, a living history museum in Williamsburg, VA and sails each year to conduct public tours and educational programs throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia. GODSPEED will be in Norfolk as part of Sail250® VirginiaJune 19-23, 2026. You can learn more about the ship and its programs here - https://www.jyfmuseums.org/visit/jamestown-settlement/living-history/ships#ad-image-0.
KALMAR NYCKEL is a recreation of a ship that brought the first Swedish colonists to what in now Delaware in 1638. The original ship was built in the Netherlands in 1627 and purchased by a Swedish company in 1629. The reproduction ship was built in Wilmington, DE in the 1990s and sails as an educational platform, with schools and public programs. KALMAR NYCKEL will be participating in Sails on the Potomac in Alexandria, VA June 12-14, 2026 and SailFest Cape Charles, June 19-21, 2026. You can learn more about the ship and its programs here- https://www.kalmarnyckel.org/.
LADY MARYLAND is a uniquely Chesapeake Bay vessel. This pungy schooner is typical of Bay cargo schooners from the late 19th and early 20th century, sporting a popular pink and green paint scheme. Vessels like LADY MARYLAND carried coal, lumber, agricultural products, and lamp oil. Today, the schooner sails for Living Classroom Foundation in Baltimore, conducting environmental education programs. LADY MARYLAND will be Onancock for their Onancock Sails Forwardevent June 12-14, 2026. To learn more about the schooner and its programs, visit - https://livingclassrooms.org/programs/maritime-education.
LYNX is a recreation of a War of 1812 Baltimore clipper. The schooner sails primarily on the East Coast of the United States from Georgia to New England while offering sailing opportunities for the public and schools. LYNX will be participating in SailFest Cape Charles, June 19-21, 2026. To learn more about the schooner and its programs, visit - https://www.tallshiplynx.org/.
MILDRED BELLE is an original Chesapeake Bay buyboat. Built in Virginia around 1948, the buyboat now serves as an educational platform for Living Classrooms Foundation, based in Baltimore, MD.
Buyboats were often the middlemen in the fishing industry - buying fish, crabs, and oysters from sailing vessels (skipjacks and schooners) and transporting those catches to markets on shore. Some buyboats, like MILDRED BELLE, did also directly engage in Bay fishing - dredging crabs during the winter, trawling fish, and even pioneering the sports fishing industry. MILDRED BELLE will participate in the Smithfield Maritime Rendezvous June 12-14, 2026. To learn more about the buy boat and its programs, visit - https://livingclassrooms.org/programs/maritime-education
PROVIDENCE is a re-creation of an American sloop from the Revolutionary War. The original ship was a cargo vessel named KATY before it was chartered by the Rhode Island General Assembly in 1775. Renamed PROVIDENCE when she was taken into Continental service, the sloop participated in campaigns along the East Coast and in the Bahamas. PROVIDENCE is best known as John Paul Jones's first command. The reproduction vessel was built in 1976 for America's Bicentennial and was now sails from Alexandria, VA. The sloop will participate in Alexandria's Sails on the Potomac event June 12-14, 2026. You can learn more about the vessel at https://tallshipprovidence.org/history-of-providence/.
SIGSBY is an original Chesapeake Bay skipjack - a traditional sailing craft that evolved in the Chesapeake Bay and was primarily used for oyster dredging.
SIGSBY was built in 1901 and dredged commercially for 88 years before being restored and converted to an educational platform for teaching marine science to students. The skipjack sails from Baltimore, MD - part of Living Classroom Foundation's fleet of educational vessels. SIGSBY will participate in the Smithfield Maritime Rendezvous June 12-14, 2026. To learn more about the buy boat and its programs, visit - https://livingclassrooms.org/programs/maritime-education.
The original SULTANA sailed American waters for the British Royal Navy, preventing smuggling and enforcing tax duties. The modern reproduction was built in Chestertown, MD in 2001 and sails as an educational vessel for the Sultana Education Foundation. Sailing on the schooner in the Chester River of Chesapeake Bay allows elementary through college aged students to visualize history, study marine science, and put mathematics to practical use in a maritime environment. SULTANA will participate in Alexandria's Sails on the Potomac Event June 12-14, 2026. You can learn more about the SULTANA's programs at https://sultanaeducation.org/.
The United States Coast Guard Barque EAGLE was built at the Blohm & Voss Shipyard in Hamburg, Germany as the HORST WESSEL. Commissioned in 1936, she was taken as a war reparation after World War II, renamed, and commissioned as the training vessel of the United States Coast Guard Academy. Today, she trains midshipmen from the Academy and candidates from the USCG Officer Candidate School while representing the United States and the U.S. Coast Guard during goodwill voyages throughout the world. EAGLE will be in Norfolk for Sail250® Virginia June 19-23, 2026.
VIRGINIA is a re-creation of the last all sail vessel built for the Virginia Pilot Association in 1917. The schooner sailed for the VPA until 1926, holding station at Cape Henry and boarding pilots onto steam vessels entering Hampton Roads. The re-created VIRGINIA was built in Norfolk, VA in 2005. Between 2006-2013, the schooner conducted sail training programs with students from Virginia and elsewhere as it sailed the East coast, Caribbean, and Canadian Maritimes. The schooner now is now docked at Nauticus as part of the Sail Nauticus program. VIRGINIA will participate in Richmond SailfestJune 12-14, 2026 and Sail250® Virginia in Norfolk June 19-23, 2026. To learn more about the schooner and its program, visit - https://nauticus.org/explore/schooner-virginia/.
The CAPITÁN MIRANDA serves as a sail training vessel for the Navy of Uruguay. The ship was built in 1930 and originally served as a geographical survey ship. Retired from that role, it was converted to a three masted schooner and re-entered service in 1978. CAPITÁN MIRANDA sails the world as an ambassador for Uruguay while serving as a training platform for the country’s naval cadets. CAPITÁN MIRANDA will be in Norfolk for Sail250® Virginia June 19-23, 2026.
