‘Festival of Sail’ Kicks Off with Parade of Sail

DULUTH, Minn.– Today, bystanders in the Duluth harbor welcomed in some tall visitors on the water.

One by one, after a blaring welcome by their horn, the ships made their way under the lift bridge.

That being said, the ships weren’t the only visitors in the Twin Ports.

“We have people from Texas. I’ve seen some people from Italy. So, you know, people from overseas, you know, come to the area, and that’s really exciting,” said Nicole Rewertz, educator and pirate tourist attraction.

One of the spectators traveled from Eau Claire to get in on the action.

“I came up to Duluth to see the ships come in and photograph them. You know, I take photographs just for a hobby and just came to see the big ships and see what I could get for photographs,” said Denice Shepler, a photographer.

For many of the people attending, it’s a first for them to witness the boats up close.

And alongside the sails high in the sky, it raises a lot of questions.

Luckily, a few educators were dressed for the occasion.

“I think it’s very important for the community to know, you know, our maritime roots in this area, the shipping and the imports and stuff like that, and also for the kids to understand how people travel before we were all gas driven, and just the ways we used to do things,” said Rewertz.

From the sounds of it, everything so far with this festival has been smooth sailing.

“Everybody has been very pleasant, asking lots of good questions. There’s been lots of good information about the ships. Yeah, it’s been pretty festive, I would say,” said Rewertz.

“I think it just the idea of seeing them, and they’re so talked about. And, you know, I enjoy being out on the water and seeing boats. And I’ve, I’ve actually sailed on a sailboat, and I thought Great, this would be a great opportunity, and just another opportunity to photograph,” said Shepler.