by J. Brooks Terry
Staff Writer
A fleet of Tall Ships sailed into downtown Thursday afternoon, a day before the official kickoff of the Sail Jacksonville Festival.
By Saturday, event organizers said a dozen ships — three times as many as last year — will be docked along the North and South banks of the St. Johns River.
More than 150,000 spectators are expected to attend.
“It takes time, but like the Jazz Festival, we hope to see this grow more and more each year,” said City Council member and honorary Sail Jacksonville chair Lynette Self. “We want to establish this as one the premier events held in Jacksonville.”
In addition to free tours of the ships, Self and event chair Gary Anderson said several activities have been planned.
“There’s going to be a lot going on,” said Anderson. “One of the most exciting things we have planned is a boat building contest.”
Anderson said teams of two will be given the same tools and supplies. In fours hours they will be required to build a boat of their own design.
“The next day we put them in water and see which ones float,” he said. “Then we race them.”
Musical entertainment and fireworks have also been scheduled.
“We’re very excited to be able to host this kind of event right here at home,” said Self. “It can do a lot for our city and especially downtown and the river.”
The festival is free and runs from 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Friday; 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Saturday; and noon-6 p.m. Sunday.
Go online at: www.sailjacksonville.com