Despite a dispute with Boston, which is holding a competing tall ships event, ships from as far away as Argentina, New Zealand and the Ukraine will arrive in New London this week to take part, although at least four of them have also committed to Boston and will leave before the Saturday fireworks show.
The Tall Ships event in Hartlepool has been hailed a "stunning success" with the town hoping to reap the benefits for years to come.
"We think this is the most magnificent and important tall-ship event in history anywhere in the world," said Charles A. Robertson, chairman of Op Sail 2000.
Fame from OpSail has led to invitations to tall ship events next year in the Great Lakes and the following year in the Pacific.
The fireboat regularly leads parades on the bay, escorts famous ships entering the bay, and participates in tall ship events and Fleet Week in San Francisco.
Last summer, the schooner plied the Great Lakes, taking part in harbor festivals and tall-ship events in Detroit, Chicago, Cleveland and other ports.
Afterward, he said, the schooner will go through the Panama Canal and up and down the West Coast for tall-ship events.
While it looks for another sponsor, hoping the sport's clean image will help, the association is resisting the temptation to accept much more money from the ports that want to host tall-ships events, for fear that commercialism will supersede the young crews' needs.
Concerns about using lightning events to tall towers for such an event are discussed.
It's a tall order and the event in Gateshead gives a small insight into why.
That's a tall order, and the event is sold out.
