Provincetown's maritime legacy will be celebrated with eight historic sailing ships visiting the harbor Tuesday through Thursday for the 18th annual Great Provincetown Schooner Regatta.

Provincetown’s maritime legacy, and its cultural and economic impact, will be celebrated with eight historic sailing ships visiting the harbor Tuesday through Thursday for the 18th annual Great Provincetown Schooner Regatta.

Large schooners will offer rides to passengers, plus visitors will be able to view them in the harbor and watch Thursday’s parade of sail. Artists will have the chance to paint the boats from MacMillan Pier or go out on the water themselves for a “Paint the Race” sailing in connection with Truro Center for the Arts at Castle Hill.

The schooners will gather in Gloucester on Monday, with a captains’ dinner, before racing Tuesday to Provincetown. A rolling start will begin at 6 a.m., and spectators can watch the race live online at provincetownschoonerrace.com before the ships arrive on Cape Cod.

To get a personal view as the ships start arriving, event chairman Cheryl Andrews recommends MacMillan Pier on Commercial St. as the best look-out point, but watching can also be done from the Provincelands Visitors Center for the Cape Cod National Seashore (bring binoculars), from the top of the Pilgrim Monument, and Herring Cove Beach. Once the boats turn the corner at Wood End, she says, they can be viewed from Long Point and even most of the coastline of Provincetown, Truro and Wellfleet.

Winners will be announced at 6 p.m. at the Squealing Pig restaurant, 335 Commercial St.

The Challenge for the Fishermen’s Cup commemorates the Lipton Cup race of 1907 that was won by the Schooner Rose Dorothea of Provincetown, according to the regatta website. Sir Thomas J. Lipton, a sailing enthusiast and founder of the Lipton Tea Company, provided the silver trophy for this race, which is on display at Provincetown Public Library. (The library also houses, on its second floor, a still-giant, half-scale replica of the Rose Dorothea, constructed by local boat builder Francis “Flyer” Santos.)

The visiting eight-schooner fleet for this year’s regatta, Andrews says, will include the Thomas E Lannon, Hindu, Bloodhound, Bay Lady II, Istar, Renegade, Malabar II and Apella. For rides during their time in Provincetown or for the race, potential passengers need to contact individual boats for prices and times.

Boats will be docked at MacMillan Pier and Fishermen's Wharf on Wednesday for visitors to get a close-up view, Andrews says. Commercial boats will be sailing that day, and there will be a variety of smaller races.

Other events Wednesday will include: from noon to 4 p.m., the U.S. Coast Guard station will be open for tours, with shuttles available from MacMillan Pier on Commercial Street; from 1 to 3 p.m., there will be tours of the schooners and catboats; and there will be a 7 p.m. screening of the film “Maiden” at Waters Edge Cinema, 237 Commercial St. The movie tells the story of a woman who decides to put together the first-ever all-female crew for the 1989 Whitbread Round the World race. (The brother-in-law for one member of that crew -- Sally Hunter, who lives in Scotland -- works for the Provincetown Fire Department, Andrews notes.)

On Thursday, the parade of sail of all vessels begins at 10:30 a.m., with a “Paint the Parade” opportunity at MacMillan Pier (508-349-7511). The Long Point Schooner and Yacht Race, as well as the Cape Cod Catboat Race, begin at noon, with Castle Hill’s “Paint the Race” ride from noon to 3 p.m. (castlehill.org), and awards presented at 6 p.m. at a private function.