Oliver Hazard Perry hosts 12,000

4 Ohp

For the first time since the dedication ceremony in 2013, the general public had the opportunity to tour the Ocean State’s official sailing education vessel, SSV Oliver Hazard Perry. During the weekend of May 9 and 10, and for three days after, more than 12,000 people visited the vessel for onboard tours. The event was part of the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new 240-foot pier at Fort Adams, which is the tall ship’s permanent home, and the opening of Volvo Ocean Race Village. The race village has been built to accommodate a stopover for seven Volvo Ocean Race 60s making their way around the world in one of the most grueling sailing contests on the planet. 

Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo, the Ocean State’s 75th and first female governor was on hand at Fort Adams. The governor met with the public and toured the SSV Oliver Hazard Perry

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The 200-foot-long, three-masted SSV Oliver Hazard Perry was a show stopper, with a constant flow of visitors boarding then circulating on deck and below for a closer look at her rigging and a peek at her living and teaching spaces. The traditionally rigged ship reaches 13.5 stories high. Its list of other superlatives is impressive: a total of 19 spars that have been turned from massive Douglas fir trees on the largest spar lathe in North America; 7 miles of rope and wire that have been made integral to the ship’s operation by tradesmen trained in both modern and traditional rigging techniques; and 20 sails, both square and fore-and-aft, that total 14,000 square feet. Below decks, Oliver Hazard Perry offers accommodations for 49 people on ocean voyages, a climate-controlled environment, a modern galley, science lab and a full array of electronic navigation and communication gear.

The ship is nearly complete and will return to Hinckley Boatyard in Portsmouth, R.I. to continue its final phase of construction and Coast Guard inspection and systems testing.

By Ocean Navigator