From all around the globe
Nothing quite invokes the romance and adventure of the high seas like a tall ship. These traditionally-rigged sailing vessels are built for life on the ocean waves, and embarking on a voyage on one is to embrace the very history of maritime exploration. Even today, there are dozens of tall ships operating out of ports all over the world. If you had the chance, which one would you board?
Click through and set sail on some of the most majestic tall ships ever to weigh anchor.
The NRP Sagres has served the Portuguese Navy as a sail training ship since 1961. A steel-built three masted barque, Sagres is easily identified for the Cross of Christ emblem on her sails.
The Polish sail training ship Dar Młodzieży was launched in 1981 at the Gdańsk shipyard. She's one of the largest vessels of her kind in the world, measuring 108 m (354 ft) in length (including bowsprit) and a rig height of 50 m (164 ft) above the waterline.
The Italian sail training ship Amerigo Vespucci is a full-rigged, three-masted steel hull vessel. Launched in 1931, she's named after the 15th-century Florentine explorer and navigator Amerigo Vespucci.
The Gorch Fock is a tall ship of the German Navy. She's been in service as a sail training vessel since 1958. A three-masted barque, the ship is named in honor of the 19th-century German author Johann Kinau, who wrote under the pseudonym "Gorch Fock."
An enormous four-masted barque, the Kaiwo Maru is owned by the Japanese government and serves as a sail training vessel. In 2011, the Kaiwo Maru was diverted to Ōkuma, Fukushima, where she served as accommodation for workers tackling the nuclear crisis at the Fukushima I nuclear power plant.
Named after the 15th-century explorer Juan Sebastián Elcano, this sail training ship of the Spanish Navy is the third-largest tall ship in the world. She was built in Cadiz in 1927.
A three-masted steel hull clipper launched in 2000, the Stad Amsterdam is a very fast vessel, averaging 15 knots at normal speed. She's used for sail training purposes and as a charter ship for guests.
Based out of Guayaquil in Ecuador, the Guayas is a sail training ship of the Ecuadorian Navy. A three-masted barque with a steel hull, Guayas is named jointly for the legendary pre-Columbian chief of the Huancavilcas, the Guayas River, and the 1841 steamship Guayas.
A sail training vessel of the Mexican Navy, ARM Cuauhtémoc entered service in 1982. She's named for the Aztec ruler Cuauhtémoc, who was captured and executed in 1525.
A massive four-masted barque, the Kruzenshtern was launched in Germany in 1926 as the Padua. She was surrendered to the USSR in 1946 as war reparation and renamed after the early 19th-century Baltic German explorer in Russian service, Adam Johann von Krusenstern. She now serves as a Russian sail training ship out of her homeport of Kaliningrad.
The full-rigged steel hull Christian Radich is named after a Norwegian ship owner. The vessel was launched out of Oslo in 1937. It's operated by the Christian Radich Sail Training Foundation.
Launched in 1966, the ARC Gloria is a training ship and official flagship of the Colombian Navy. The vessel's name is a reference to the national anthem, Oh gloria inmarcesible ('O Unfading Glory').
Launched out of Gdańsk, Poland, in 1989, the Kershones was a sail training ship for the Admiral Ushakov Maritime State University in Kerch, Crimea. After the Russian occupation of Crimea in 2014, the ship was seized by Russian authorities. It's now moored in limbo at Sevastopol shipyard.
The Cisne Branco ("White Swan") is a sail training ship serving the Brazilian Navy. A full-rigged vessel based on the design of 19th-century clippers, Cisne Branco was launched in 1999.
Launched in 1896 and fully restored to her original condition, the Belem is a three-masted barque from France. She's named for the Brazilian city of Belém after transporting sugar from the West Indies, and cocoa and coffee from Brazil and French Guiana to Nantes, France.
The Danish iron-hulled, fully rigged, three-masted sailing ship Georg Stage was launched in 1934. She's named for the 19th-centry shipowner Frederik Stage's son Georg, who died from tuberculosis in 1880. The independent foundation Georg Stages Minde was later established in his memory.
The USS Niagara was launched in 1813 and saw service during the War of 1812 (1812–1815). Commonly called the US Brig Niagara, the vessel you see today is a heavily restored version of the original. She often plies the Great Lakes during the summer.
Instantly recognized for its green hull and sails, the original Alexander von Humboldt (pictured) was built in 1906. The ship was taken off sail-training duties in 2011 and sent to the Caribbean for charter business. She was later converted to a "botel." The vessel was replaced by the Alexander von Humboldt II, the color scheme of which remains the same. Incidentally, the vessel is named after a celebrated 18th-century German polymath.
Built in Germany but serving the Romanian Navy, the Mircea was launched in 1938. The name of the ship comes from Voivode Mircea the Elder, who ruled Wallachia between 1386 and 1418.
Built in Romania, fitted out in the Netherlands, and launched in 2013, Shabab Oman II entered service as a sail training ship with the Royal Navy of Oman in August 2014.
Formally the Kaskelot, Le Français is a three-masted barque and one of the largest remaining wooden ships in commission. She was built in 1948 and originally served as a cargo vessel carrying supplies to remote coastal settlements in East Greenland. The ship was brought under the French flag in 2018.
Based in Bergen, Norway, the Statsraad Lehmkuhl first saw service in 1914 as a school training ship for the German merchant marine under the name Grossherzog Friedrich August. She was donated to the Statsraad Lehmkuhl Foundation in 1978, and today serves as a sail training vessel for the Royal Norwegian Navy.
The Gulden Leeuw is a Dutch-built three-masted topsail schooner that was first launched in 1937. She's privately owned and serves as a sail training vessel and as a venue for corporate hospitality.
The Uruguayan Navy has operated the Capitán Miranda as a sail training ship since 1978. The three-masted staysail schooner was originally launched in 1930.
The three-masted French schooner La Boudeuse is especially known for the groundbreaking 2009 Terre Ocean ("Earth Ocean") voyage, a two-year scientific expedition from South America to the Pacific Ocean. Built in 1916, the vessel originally served as a logger and was named Elsa.
Serving as a sailing classroom, the Lynx is a square topsail schooner based in Nantucket, Massachusetts. She's a replica of the original Lynx from 1812, which ran the Royal Navy blockage before behind captured by the British.
Though flagged in the Cook Islands, the homeport of the Picton Castle is Lunenburg in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. She's used for deep-ocean sail training and long-distance education voyages
The USCGC Eagle (WIX-327) is a barque used as a training cutter for future officers of the United States Coast Guard. She was originally built as the German sail training ship Horst Wessel in 1936.
The cruise ship Royal Clipper deserves a mention on this list as a steel-hulled five-masted fully rigged tall ship. She is listed by Guinness World Records as the largest square-rigged ship currently in service.
See also: Historic ships and boats you can visit and admire
Sources: (The Telegraph) (Sail Training International) (Guinness World Records)
The most majestic tall ships ever to set sail
Beautiful sailing vessels you'll want to board!
LIFESTYLE Sailing
Nothing quite invokes the romance and adventure of the high seas like a tall ship. These traditionally-rigged sailing vessels are built for life on the ocean waves, and embarking on a voyage on one is to embrace the very history of maritime exploration. Even today, there are dozens of tall ships operating out of ports all over the world. If you had the chance, which one would you board?
Click through and set sail on some of the most majestic tall ships ever to weigh anchor.