I went to the largest maritime gathering in US history, featuring ships from 20 countries, for America’s 250th birthday. Here’s what I saw.

The festivities on Independence Day consisted of the International Naval Review, featuring gray-hull naval ships from the US and abroad, and the Parade of Sail, displaying historic tall ships used as naval training vessels.

The ships were docked at piers across New York and New Jersey over the holiday weekend for members of the public to visit.

Some required timed reservations, but all of the tours were free.

Posted security notices informed visitors that MARSEC Level 1, the Coast Guard’s baseline Maritime Security Level, was in effect.

The 684-foot-long ship was commissioned in 2013 and features a crew of 360 sailors. It can carry over 700 Marines as well as helicopters and amphibious vehicles such as Landing Craft Air Cushions, or LCACs.

On my tour of the ship, I saw the USS Arlington’s well deck, flight deck, crew berthing, and medical bays.

At 509 feet and 6 inches long, Farragut served as the official reviewing warship for the International Naval Review on July 4, with Vice President JD Vance sailing on board. The crew consists of around 350 sailors, our guide said.

The ship is equipped with several types of missiles, including surface-to-air, anti-submarine, and Tomahawk cruise missiles, as well as torpedoes.

Unlike with the active Navy ships, where crew chaperones were required at all times, I was free to board and disembark the tall ships on my own.

During the War of 1812, when the US Navy had only six warships, President James Madison issued letters of marque authorizing private vessels to arm themselves and hunt British vessels. The original Lynx was one of these privateers.

In 1813, Lynx was captured by the British. The Royal Navy took detailed notes about the ship’s construction before sinking it. These plans were used to reconstruct a near-exact replica bearing the same name in 2001.

Lynx spends winters at St. Simons Island in Georgia and summers in Nantucket, Massachusetts.

The ship, based in Santo Domingo, has a sail area of 11,000 square feet and is named for the founder of the Navy of the Dominican Republic.

The 177-foot-long ship can hold up to 37 sailors.

Guayas measures 257 feet long with a crew consisting of 35 officers and 120 enlisted sailors.

Guayas is homeported in Guayaquil, Ecuador, and is named after a river in western Ecuador.

Dar Mlodziezy measures 354 feet long, has a sail area of 32,000 square feet, and holds a crew of 40 plus 136 cadets.

Dar Mlodziezy also circumnavigated the globe from 2018 to 2019 in honor of Poland’s 100th anniversary of independence.

The 340-foot ship, built in 1963, has trained over 11,000 Argentine Navy graduates, according to Sail4th 250. The crew consists of 24 officers, 187 crewmen, and 150 cadets.

Libertad has visited over 500 ports in more than 60 countries.

Admission to the Intrepid Museum, housed on the historic USS Intrepid aircraft carrier, usually costs $38 per adult, but I received a free pier-only ticket that allowed me to access the tall ship tours without paying for the museum.

The 129-foot-long schooner houses nine officers and 19 midshipmen.

If Google Translate is to be trusted, the standard breakfast menu consisted of porridge and jam, boiled eggs with caviar, yogurt, cereal, and fruit salad.

Capitan Miranda measures 210 feet long with 9,185 square feet of sail.

In the crew’s dining room, I spotted a deck of Uno cards and a small chessboard next to some barrel-shaped drums called tamboriles, which are used to play candombe music.

In 1962, the USS Independence aircraft carrier signaled to Amerigo Vespucci that it was “the most beautiful ship in the world” when the two ships crossed paths in the Mediterranean.

In 2022, the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush repeated the compliment when the Italian ship sailed nearby, conveying, “You are still, after 60 years, the most beautiful ship in the world.”

Measuring 329 feet long with 30,400 square feet of sail, Amerigo Vespucci carries 16 officers, 70 non-commissioned officers, 190 sailors, and, in the summertime, 130 cadets from the Italian Naval Academy.

The largest maritime gathering in US history offered an impressive display of ships and modern naval alliances. What surprised me, though, were the personal connections.

On active-duty US Navy ships, older veterans regaled crew members with tales from their time at sea, comparing the advancements in technology and the patches on their uniforms.

On the foreign ships, visitors chatted excitedly with uniformed crew members in their native languages — Spanish, Polish, Swedish, Italian — either as native speakers themselves or in broken sentences as they attempted to practice their skills. A crew member on Uruguay’s Capitan Miranda told me that ships serve as “floating embassies,” promoting international relations while also providing a taste of home to citizens and expats abroad.

Boarding ships from Poland and the Dominican Republic, two countries included in my own family’s history as American immigrants, also held special significance for me. I sent a steady stream of photos to the family group chat, marveling at seeing parts of our journey to America represented by the towering sails.

It was definitely one of the best birthday parties I’ve been to in a while.