Tall Ships are coming to Cape May

Tall Ships are coming to Cape May’s Schellenger’s Landing this summer. For the first time in its 165 year history, the America’s Cup has scheduled a very special tour leading up to the 2017 America’s Cup races in Bermuda, and Cape May’s “Other Side” is on the course. You can follow the America on Facebook

The tour will make “Port-O-Call” at South Jersey Marina on Schellenger’s Landing on August 30th and 31st. It gets even better. Earlier in August, beginning on the 12th and running through September 3rd, New Jersey’s very own tall ship, the A.J. Meerwald will also make its Port-O-Call at Utsch’s Marina, also on Schellengers Landing.

Hosted by both South Jersey Marina and the Corinthian Yacht Club of Cape May, the America’s Cup visit is part of a nationwide (coastal states at least) effort to spark renewed excitement within the yachting community about the upcoming America’s Cup race. At the same time, the tour will highlight the new technologies that are elevating the sport to the next level.

Owner and Captain Troy Sears and crew will navigate this modern replica of the world’s most famous racing yacht, the America, to sailing coastal communities in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico and throughout the Caribbean. Scheduled stops along the U.S. East and Gulf Coasts, including Cape May, are the heart and soul of this, the second leg of the America’s Cup Tour. Special events, presentations, tours and live sails will take place at public docks, maritime centers, community sailing associations and private yacht clubs at each Port-O-Call.

According to Sears, “The goal of this tour is to celebrate the event’s storied history and to infuse a new level of excitement and involvement in the America’s Cup for now, and for generations to come.”

The tour will give sailing enthusiasts and neophytes alike a chance to come aboard an exact replica of the vessel that first won the Royal Squadron’s 100 pound silver cup in 1851. This is the cup which was later decreed to the New York Yacht Club and renamed the America’s Cup after the winning vessel, America.

In Cape May, the public will be invited to tour the America, free of charge between 10:30 and 12:30 on the two days that she is berthed at South Jersey Marina, Tuesday, August 30th and Wednesday August 31st.

In addition to the dockside tours, two sailings per day will also be scheduled, one from 1:00 to 4:00 and the second from 4:30 to 7:30. I am banking on the predictable Cape May 4 PM sea breeze to make the afternoon sailing quite spectacular. Though it may not be inexpensive, the fee to sail this once in a life-time opportunity, provides up-keep and provisions for the crew.

Free America’s Cup Multimedia presentations will be conducted from 8:00 to 9:00 A.M on August 30th at the Corinthian Yacht Club and on the 31st at South Jersey Marina.

Tickets for the sailings are available online at: www.Fareharbor/yachtamerica.

Thanks to Mark Allen of South Jersey Marina for help with content for this blog post.