Thousands are visiting Brockville, Ont. this weekend for the 5th edition of the Tall Ships Festival. It’s held every three years along Brockville’s waterfront, bringing some of the world’s most historic ships to the City of 1000 Islands. Festival goers are offered an interactive experience with the ability to tour each of the ships during the weekend. A total of nine ships are docked in Hardy Park, Centeen Park, and Blockhouse Island. Tall Ships is a critical event for the city of Brockville with the influx of visitors, according to organizers. The festival saw well over three times the amount of advance ticket sales compared to 2022, the last time the festival was held. Officials say people are visiting from Ottawa, Kingston, Belleville and even New York State. “It’s really great for our community as they’re staying overnight in hotels, they’re visiting our restaurants and our local economy is really boosting from it,” said Lyndsay Bigley, digital marketing officer for Brockville Tourism. Amy Daggett traveled all the way from Geneseo, N.Y. for the festival. She’s part of a group called Ship Junkies, made up of thousands of ship enthusiasts. “I came here to see the tall ships and take some pictures to share (with) our group,” she said. Daggett is acting as the Tall Ships Festival correspondent this weekend for Ship Junkies but she’s also learning new things along the way. “I didn’t know until today that Empire Sandy used to be a tugboat!” she said. The Empire Sandy is the largest ship at the festival and the largest sailing vessel in Canada. It served as a tugboat in World War II before being re-purposed as a tall ship in the 1970s and now sails the Great Lakes. “It was part of D-Day operations,” said Jaxx Barton, the deck officer of the 200-foot long vessel. “When it does come around every three years, we’re hoping for great weather, which we had today, and the community has really rallied behind us,” said Bigley. “It’s just been an amazing weekend so far.”
