ALL ABOARD US broadcasters followed the boats over several weeks
LANCE CPL. MICHAEL ROBINSON
T he Sail 250 America tour was one of the largest maritime events in modern history, bringing more than 10,000 sailors to the East Coast. Kicking off in late May, seven tall ships departed from New Orleans, heading for various Virginian harbours before trekking onwards to Baltimore, New York and Boston. By the final stop, the initial fleet grew to include 60-plus historic vessels. Lasting nearly two months, local broadcasters took charge of the Sail 250 coverage as the ships passed through their ports. In New Orleans, WWL-TV (CBS) and WDSU (NBC) captured the fleet as it bounced along the Mississippi River and into the Gulf. Once the ships reached Virginia, WHRO Public Media (PBS) and 13News Now (ABC) took over; WHRO integrated the coverage into its Juneteenth Remembers collection, while 13News Now broadcast a multi-hour Parade of Sail Special Presentation. From there, the fleet was bound for Baltimore, where local CBS and NBC channels once again picked up the story. Nationally, C-SPAN covered the America 250: Baltimore Tall Ships Welcome Ceremony live from the city’s Inner Harbor. Here, Sail 250 began to incorporate military airshows, providing a spectacle by both land and sea. Sail 250 hit New Jersey and New York just in time for July 4th, where the event was temporarily called ‘Sail 4th 250’ instead. NBCUniversal held the exclusive rights here, delivering a six-hour live broadcast that aired on NBC, NBC News NOW, Telemundo and Peacock. On 4 July, the company reported viewing spikes in the early morning hours – particularly on Peacock and NBC News NOW. The in-person turnout landed at six million attendees, all eager to see the tall ships from the Hudson River shores – including Liberty State Park, where FOX News set up shop.
LANCE CPL. MICHAEL ROBINSON
Sail 250 America saw a fleet of vessels flow from the Mississippi River to Boston Harbor. We outline the maritime event’s broadcast coverage America 250: Live from the East Coast
Words by Katie Kasperson
feeds, daily tour diaries and tracking schedules as the historic fleet wrapped its journey in the place where the American Revolution arguably started. After nearly 2000 nautical miles travelled around the US alone (some international vessels sailed an extra 10,000 just to get there), Sail 250 ended its festival on 16 July, and the ships, including the USS Constitution, Mayflower II and Amerigo Vespucci, returned to their home harbours.
Finally, Sail 250 shipped up to Boston, where WCVB (ABC Chronicle) and NBC10 provided local broadcast
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