Read the full article on KETV 7
APPEARANCE NEXT MONTH IN SAIL, BOSTON 250 NEWSCENTER 5 DAVID BIENICK TAKES US ABOARD. GOOD EVENING AND WELCOME ON BOARD THE USS CONSTITUTION. WE’RE COMING BACK INTO DOCK NOW, BUT WE’VE BEEN SAILING ACROSS BOSTON HARBOR THIS AFTERNOON TO OFFICIALLY COMMEMORATE THE 251ST ANNIVERSARY OF THE BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. THERE WERE TWO GUN SALUTES TODAY, ONE A 21 GUN SALUTE AS WE ROUNDED A TURN NEAR CASTLE ISLAND, AND A SECOND 17 GUN SALUTE AS WE PASSED THE BIRTHPLACE OF USS CONSTITUTION. BUT WHAT WAS MOST IMPRESSIVE IS TO SEE THE WORK OF THOSE SAILORS UP THERE AT THE TOP OF THE MIZZEN MAST. FOR MONTHS THEY HAVE BEEN TRAINING NOT ONLY HOW TO CLIMB THE RIGS TO GET UP TO THAT TOP OF THAT MAST, BUT ALSO HOW TO SET THE SAIL. THAT WILL BE UNFURLED ON NOT ONLY FOR THIS CRUISE, BUT ALSO ON JULY 4TH AND THEN AGAIN FOR SALE BOSTON 250. THESE ARE REGULAR ENLISTED SAILORS, SO LEARNING HOW TO SAIL WITH SAILS IS NOT NORMALLY PART OF THEIR DUTIES. MY FIRST TIME DOING IT WAS OUR PREVIOUS UNDERWAY TO ACTUALLY GO OUT THERE. WHILE WE WERE OUT THERE IN THE IN THE OCEAN DOING IT. AND IT WAS IT WAS CRAZY. I LOOKED AT EVERYBODY. I WAS LIKE, THAT WAS CRAZY. IT IS A TREMENDOUS RESPONSIBILITY. BUT FOR ME, IT’S ALSO A GREAT HONOR AND A GREAT WAY FOR NOT ONLY MYSELF, BUT REALLY IS FOR TO SHOWCASE MY SAILORS, TO SHOWCASE THE CONSTITUTION. THESE DAYS, THE SAILS ARE MAINLY FOR SHOW. A TUGBOAT PROVIDES THE POWER FOR THE USS CONSTITUTION TO MOVE THROUGH THE WATER. THE SHIP HAS SAILED UNDER ITS OWN SAIL POWER
Advertisement
USS Constitution sails in commemoration of Battle of Bunker Hill
Boston’s floating historical landmark, the USS Constitution, took a special sail on Wednesday in commemoration of the Battle of Bunker Hill.The USS Constitution, also known as Old Ironsides, is the oldest commissioned warship in the U.S. Navy. First launched in 1797, she was built in the North End and named by President George Washington. She earned her nickname during the War of 1812 when British cannonballs were seen bouncing off the ship’s wooden hull.Constitution sails out into Boston Harbor several times each summer for turnaround cruises, during which she fires her guns in salute.During this sail, her crew rendered two traditional salutes: a 21-gun salute off Fort Independence on Castle Island, followed by a 17-gun salute as she passed U.S. Coast Guard Base Boston.The base is the former site of Edmund Hartt’s Shipyard, where the Constitution was built and launched.
Boston’s floating historical landmark, the USS Constitution, took a special sail on Wednesday in commemoration of the Battle of Bunker Hill.
The USS Constitution, also known as Old Ironsides, is the oldest commissioned warship in the U.S. Navy. First launched in 1797, she was built in the North End and named by President George Washington. She earned her nickname during the War of 1812 when British cannonballs were seen bouncing off the ship’s wooden hull.
Advertisement
Constitution sails out into Boston Harbor several times each summer for turnaround cruises, during which she fires her guns in salute.
During this sail, her crew rendered two traditional salutes: a 21-gun salute off Fort Independence on Castle Island, followed by a 17-gun salute as she passed U.S. Coast Guard Base Boston.
The base is the former site of Edmund Hartt’s Shipyard, where the Constitution was built and launched.
