The 21^st Century Magazine,
at South Florida's www.miami-dade-online.com.

The wooden Tall Ships spent three days in the Port of Miami, where you could see two dozen old fashioned sailing vessels. On the afternoon of June 10th they moved up the east coast of South Florida on their way to Maine and five ports in between. Schedule: www.opsail2000.org/web/route.html

We saw the blimp first, but it went by long before the first ship could be seen. The pigeon is at the bottom, on the beach. Wonder what she thought of the strange bird?

The beach is the eastern edge of the Bermuda Triangle. When the first images of sails came out of the mist, it was like glimpsing into the past. Look closely, you can see white plumes on the horizon. It was very exciting, like it always is when you see something you have never seen before and will probably never see again.

The first ship was flying the American flag. It is the United States Coast Guard Tall Ship, manned by young sailors of a modern era, learning to sail the old way.

The U.S. ship was far ahead of the other Tall Boats, but not alone. You can see a sailboat, a coast guard cutter and the sun glinting off a helicopter. To see more pictures of this ship, click.

The next two ships gradually came into view. We had the benefit of binoculars and a telescope. The second ship had people lining the deck. We waved to them.

The first ship looked odd through the telescope and we wondered if it was having problems. The second ship was overtaking the first which seemed stalled.

At one point the second boat looked to pass the first. But, as this picture shows, it was illusionary. The first ship was moving farther east, toward the Gulf Steam where the warm waters moving toward the north would provide a different type of ride. OpSail2000 began in Puerto Rico with a final destination Maine.

As the sky's threat of rain drove us off the beach, we were glad we came. We only saw five of the two dozen ships in the flotilla. Perhaps they were farther to the east and out of view. Someone said they could still see a ship on the dusky horizon at 6 P.M. If the Tall Ships come your way, make the effort. It is a once in a lifetime view of the past. And to those Tall Ships, we wish you Bon Voyage!

To see the passing of the ships, click.

The main website of OpSail2000 is http://www.opsail2000.org/