Twelve Tall Ships
A Fleet of Twelve Tall Ships Will Sail Into Bay City July 11th for the Tall Ship Celebration Maritime Festival
The largest fleet of tall ships to visit Michigan this summer will arrive in Downtown Bay City on July 11th and kick off the 2013 Tall Ship Celebration. From July 12 through 14, ten ships ranging from War of 1812 replicas to modern floating classrooms will be available for boarding and touring. The Great Lakes Bay Region’s own Appledore IV will be joined by the schooner Hindu of Key West, Florida to offer sailing excursions throughout the festival.
“We are very pleased to present a diverse fleet of Tall Ships this summer and we’re confident there will be something for everyone to enjoy,” explained Event Coordinator Shirley Roberts. “The size and rigging of the ships are as different as their colorful stories. The fleet this year will include the best combination of Tall Ship Celebration favorites, a few that commemorate the War of 1812, and two very interesting new additions.”
The Flagship Niagara returns to Tall Ship Celebration for the first time since 2006. In 2013, Niagara is the star of the show representing the War of 1812 and the Battle of Lake Erie. Perennial festival favorite Pride of Baltimore II and the Privateer Lynx, new to the festival in 2010, round-out the War of 1812-era vessels.
Madeline from Traverse City has participated in each of the four previous festivals and will be returning to Bay City again in 2013. Toronto’s “Twin Brigantines” Pathfinder & Playfair, along with their young crew ages 13—18, are returning from their initial appearance in 2010. Wisconsin’s Denis Sullivan, with her strong environmental programming will make her second appearance in 2013.
The Unicorn has been a part of the Tall Ship Celebration fleet for every event except 2010. She is the only tall ship states, and invited them tell our over half a million readers about some of the most dramatic places to explore by boat. This is a real insider’s guide.”
in the world that sails with an all-female crew. Unicorn has a special mission this year: She’s sailing with the daughters of deployed servicemen and women from the US and Canada.
The two new-comers to the event in 2013 are Peacemaker and Sörlandet. Peacemaker hales from Savannah, Georgia and will make her inaugural 
trip into the Great Lakes this summer. Sörlandet flies a Norwegian flag and will return to the Great Lakes in 2013 for the first time since 1933 when she served as the Norwegian Pavilion at the Chicago World’s Fair.
Tickets for the four-day festival go on sale April 1st. Admission is $8.00 per person, per day. Souvenir Passports are required to board and tour the visiting tall ships and they are available for an additional $8.00 ($10.00 after June 30). Tickets and Passports will be available on-line at www.tallshipcelebration.com, in person at Jack’s Fruit and Meat Markets in the Great Lakes Bay Region after May 1st or at the festival admission gates. Tall Ship Celebration: Bay City is presented by Dow Corning and sponsored by MLive Media Group with additional support from St. Mary’s of Michigan, Dow Chemical Company, Consumers Energy, Citizens Bank, Wildfire Credit Union, Independent Bank and The F.P. Horak Company.
Bay City has produced Tall Ship Celebration previously in 2001, 2003, 2006 and 2010 and has won “Port of the Year” honors for its efforts in 2001 and 2006. When it welcomes the TALL SHIPS CHALLENGE® fleet in July 2013, Bay City will again be the only official host port in the state of Michigan.
For more information about Tall Ship Celebration: Bay City, contact Shirley Roberts by phone at 855.825.7447, by email at Shirley.Roberts@charter.net, or visit the organization’s website www.tallshipcelebration.com.