OpSail/Harborfest 2012

My Sunday 'Week In Pictures' post has been pre-empted to bring you this look at one of Norfolk's' biggest festivals. OpSail combined with Harborfest for an exciting weekend of nautical enjoyment reaching full force with the Tall Ship Parade on Friday. I was fortunate enough to spend a good part of the day Friday taking in the excitement. There was so much to see it has taken almost two days to go through the nearly 600 photographs I took.

I could fill a large photo book with just photos of all the terrific Tall Ships. They came from all around the world to participate in the parade. It would be easy to dedicate this entire post to just photos of these beautiful ships. Visit my other blog to check out the Tall Ships. Instead I would like to focus on the the fun sights and entertainment to be witnessed at the festival. Harborfest celebrates the nautical history of the region and with this year marking the bi-centennial of The War of 1812 there was a definite focus on that time period. Actors dressed in period garb entertained and interacted with festival goers.

What would an 1800's nautical festival be without Blackbeard and other pirates?

There were so many amazing sights, like these sailors that stood on the masts for hours while the ships sailed in the parade.

 There were so many different types of entertainment, rides and games galore.

Of course being a Navy family I couldn't pass up a patriotic shot or two.

Click on the button below to head over to Unknown Mami's to see what is going on all over the world.

OpSail 2012: Sea and Air Parade

Wanting to be sure and get a close parking spot and good view I arrived for the parade quite early.

I decided I wanted a shot of the Anzio as it first entered the Waterside Park area so I chose this spot which was pretty empty at first. This grandmother and her cute little granddaughter and I spent about an hour visiting and watching the boats on the waterway.

We could just barely see the lead ships in the parade when a couple of tug boats decided to park right in front of us. Fortunately the captain of this boat realized they were blocking the view and decided to move.

 We were very thankful as once they moved this is the sight that met our eyes.

 In the lead was a US Coast Guard vessel followed by a couple of Fire Boats.

 Next came my son-in-law's ship the USS Anzio.

After the Anzio passed I decided to hurry down the boardwalk and capture a few shots from further down. There were quite a few people out to see the parade.

Above the USS Anzio passes the RFA Argus as it heads back to dock at Norfok Naval base.
Here the RFA Argus which was the largest vessel in the parade to come all the way into Norfolk  is getting ready to be turned with the aid of the tug boats.

 It was an amazing sight, watching as they spun this huge ship. I have to admit I was a bit worried they wouldn't have enough room it was so big. But they got her turned around without any problems.

Knowing I could not stay for the entire parade I headed back to the spot where I started to capture a couple more shots of the next ship coming in. It wasn't until I was going through the photos that I realized how good my timing had been. The ship coming in is the Brazilian BNS Independencia and the couple in the right corner are wearing shirts with Brazil on the sleeve.

I moved to another spot so I could get a clearer shot of the Brazilian ship before going in search of the docks where some of these ships would be docking for the duration of the festival.

I was finally rewarded when I found this spot just as the BNS Independencia was anchoring to the dock.

Tomorrow I will be heading back to the OpSail festival for the Tall Ship Parade and get shots of both the tall ships and more of the military vessels.

Op Sail 2012: Part 3

Today was a beautiful day for the kick off parade for Op Sail 2012. I was able to be there and get some nice shots of the ships on parade. I will be sharing those tomorrow. Today I would like to share with you a few more shots of Town Point Park where the festival will take place.

 Lovely fountains to inspire and delight!

 Town Point Park is also home to the Nauticus Naval Museum.

 There is even a cannon or two!

 Wide open grass area, although many of the festival activity booths and tents are in the grass area.

 Spacious boardwalk with amazing views.

 Now for a sneak peek at today's Sea and Air Parade. The USS Anzio came in at the head of the parade just behind the coast guard ship.

Now through Sunday many of the military ships docked along the down town Norfolk waterfront will be open for public visitation from noon till 8pm. On Friday the military ships will be joined by a fleet of Tall Ships. 
If you happen to be in the area this is a don't miss opportunity to view some amazing ships. If not don't fret, I will be attending a number of Op Sail events and will share my experiences here.

Getting ready for Op Sail 2012

I love ships and I love parades so it is no surprise to those that know me that I am getting very excited for Op Sail 2012. If I could I would be at every event scheduled from now till next Sunday. For those that don't know what Op Sail is, it is a week long festival with two ship parades and lots of other fun activities and excitement that is taking place along the water ways here in Virginia. Clyde at Whatever Floats Your Boat has a long list of links to all the amazing activities going on.

Yesterday the kiddo's and I headed down town to the waterfront to check out the parking situation so I wouldn't be totally lost later this week. We were excited to see the preparations in progress for the festival.

We wandered up and down the boardwalk enjoying the sights.

 It was a rather quiet Sunday afternoon. It was warm but not too hot and the wind was not too strong. Although it wasn't crowded we were not the only ones enjoying the sights.

This was the second Sunday in a row that I ran off with the grand kids for an afternoon of adventure. I do believe I am going to try and make it my routine to take them out on Sunday afternoon weather permitting. Who knows it may evolve into a tradition. 

This was my first time visiting down town Norfolk with my camera so of course I took tons of photographs. I will be sharing more over the next few days here and on my photography blog.