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 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.
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.
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.
The KLD TUNAS SAMUDERA is the Royal Malaysian Navy’s sail training vessel. It is a brigantine – having two masts, with square sails on the foremast and fore and aft sails on the mainmast. Designed by Colin Mudie of Royal Designer for Industry, the brigantine was built by Brooke Yachts in Lowestoft, England and launched in August 1989. Commissioned in October of that year, the vessel serves as a training platform for the Royal Malaysian Navy and as a floating ambassador during port visits. In 2007-2008, the TUNAS SAMUDERA completed a circumnavigation of the world.
Peru’s tall ship, 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.
ORP ISKRA sails for the Polish Naval Academy, training cadets on seamanship, navigation, and leadership. The ship was built in the Gdansk Shipyard and commissioned in 1982. The ship is barquentine rigged – with square sails on the foremast and fore and aft sail on the main and mizzen masts. The name of the ship translates to “spark”, demonstrating the connection between Poland’s youth and the sea.
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 Rok 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.
Sweden
The Swedish Navy has confirmed participation with one of their two sail training tall ships, to be named at a future date.
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.
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.
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.
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 12-14, 2026.
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.
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.
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.
