Opinion

The making of Sail Gloucester

Mayor's Desk
Carolyn Kirk
Published: July 4, 2009

Earlier in the spring, I was talking with Ally O'Connor about the difficulty Sail Boston seemed to be having in dealing with the city of Boston over the handling of the tall ships event.

She said, "Why don't we set up our own Sail Gloucester and invite some tall ships to come here instead?"

About the same time, Bart Schick, commodore of the Eastern Point Yacht Club, also made the same inquiry to my office. Then our harbormaster, Jim Caulkett, informed me that the barque Picton Castle from Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, was coming in to Gloucester Harbor over the Fourth of July and I thought, "We might be on to something."

So was born Sail Gloucester.

We quickly pulled a meeting together with Gloucester people with ties to sailing who might serve on the Host Committee and organize a Sail Gloucester weekend of events. The group met every week for a couple of weeks, and participation grew to include the Schooner Festival organizers, downtown merchants, volunteer coordinators of the Stage Fort Park visitor's center, Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce, Seaport Gloucester and many more.

A cornerstone of the planning was the coordination with Cruiseport Gloucester, where the barque Picton Castle will be docked. Homeland Security clearance, shoreside services, welcome reception, accommodations for visitors wanting to take dockside tours, bathrooms!

All had to be thought through and planned. General Manager Sheree DeLorenzo has committed the Cruiseport operation to a terrific first annual Sail Gloucester event, and the city is grateful for its support.

One of the themes that I emphasized over and over again was that the most important outcome in this year's event was that it be successful. Our goal needed to be to create a positive experience for visiting vessels and crews so that they would spread the word in the tall ships community that Gloucester is a welcoming port worthy of visiting year after year.

We wanted to ensure a positive experience for visitors to our port city, and showcase not only our beautiful harbor but Main Street as well. We worked with Cape Ann Transportation Authority to secure four days of shuttle-bus service originating from the Stage Fort Park parking area. So that our own residents are not overwhelmed by increased traffic, the shuttle will run from Stage Fort Park to downtown, with stops at The Gloucester House, Gloucester Maritime Heritage Center, and Cruiseport.

The return shuttle will depart from Cruiseport and head down Main Street and then back over to Stage Fort Park. After dockside viewing of sailing vessels at the Gloucester House, the Maritime Heritage Center, and Cruiseport, our hope is that visitors then enjoy Main Street shops and restaurants.

Financial support for Sail Gloucester has come from Suez LNG NA LLC, Boston Towing and Transportation, and Cruiseport. The city of Gloucester certainly does not have the financial resources or the manpower resources necessary to pull off an ambitious celebration; however, that hasn't stopped us or the dozens of people who have jumped in to help.

The celebration is capped by a panel discussion Monday morning at The Gloucester House, titled "Lessons from Lunenburg and Other Ports." The world-traveled captain of the Picton Castle, Dan Moreland, along with Iain Kerr from the Paint Factory's Ocean Alliance, and Bert Rogers, executive director of the American Sailing Training Association, will provide their insights from port cities the world over. All are invited and there is a modest ticket price.

Like the enormously successful Downtown Block Party celebrations that sprung up from the work of a loosely aligned group of citizens who wanted to support Gloucester, Sail Gloucester is also a grass-roots effort.

The mayor's office is proud to support these citizen-driven initiatives. From them, something uniquely Gloucester emerges.

Carolyn Kirk is mayor of the city of Gloucester.

For more information on Sail Gloucester and this weekend's festivities, visit www.sailgloucester.org.