Have You Ever Toured a Tall Ship?

Visitors are invited to board visiting tall ships for crew-guided tours where they can learn how these massive sailing vessels are navigated—and discover the culture and traditions of their country of origin.

It is a privilege to step aboard a living piece of maritime history. Visitors may see ceremonial officer swords, massive ship’s wheels, gleaming brass, and working rigging. During the tour, you’ll hear new languages, smell flavors from the galley, and may witness military or maritime traditions and protocols.

Special programs for school groups may be arranged in advance. Please reach out to us!

Kids and adults alike enjoy this free, unforgettable experience.

Stay connected and check back here for updates on upcoming tall ship arrivals in San Francisco Bay.

Person smiling and climbing on a sailboat's rigging during daytime, with the sky and a small airplane visible in the background.

Why Tall Ships Matter

Naval tall ships are sent to foreign ports to forge relationships through public diplomacy, including public tours, diplomatic meetings, sailing exchanges, and cultural activities. Young officers and crew learn about the world, while local residents experience a new culture in their own harbor.

Sail training ships typically circumnavigate the globe over six-month voyages, stopping in ports across multiple countries while teaching academic coursework on board.

Cadets develop teamwork by setting and dousing more than 28 sails, climbing yard arms, and participating in parades of sail. When you step aboard a tall ship, you are subject to the laws of its home country. During a five-day visit, cities may be filled with hundreds of cadets in white uniforms—each considered a diplomat welcomed by the U.S. State Department.

Their mission is singular: to create friendship and goodwill among all peoples.

  • "You made our visit successful because you went the extra mile to shore up our maritime services, get discounts and set up our press conference. We can't wait to come back to San Francisco."

    —Captain Darwanto, Indonesian Navy

Invited International Tall Ships

We love international tall ships because they sail multi-culturalism around the world with students on board. Most are naval training ships and some are merchant marine or non-profit sail-training ships. They are so beautiful under sail and are teaching future world-leaders about our wonderful and diverse world. When you see them enter port, they will take your breath away.

A tall sailing ship with multiple masts decorated with colorful flags and figures in red, blue, yellow, and white, with the Colombian flag prominently displayed.

  • ARC GLORIA of the Colombian Navy is a 212-foot, three-masted barque with 15,000 square feet of sail which is homeported in Cartagena, Colombia. She carries a complement of 170 crew and 80 cadets from the Naval Academy. She was built in Bilbao, Spain along with her sister ships: Mexico’s ARM Cuauhtemoc, Venezuela’s Simon Bolivar and the Ecuador’s BE Guayas.

    Sail San Francisco has hosted Gloria in San Francisco and San Diego many times since 1999 and including 2025.

    Learn more about Gloria on Wikipedia.org

Tall Ship of the Colombian Navy

Home Port: Cartegena, Colombia

ARC Gloria

A tall sailing ship with multiple white sails and colorful signal flags, sailing on the ocean.

  • ARM CUAUHTEMOC is a 220 foot, three-masted barque, homeported in Acapulco, Mexico. She has a crew of 186 officers and crew, and 90 midshipmen. Launched in 1982, she has been a frequent visitor to San Francisco, Monterey, Los Angeles and San Diego. Cuauhtémoc is the last of four sister ships (Colombia’s ARC Gloria, Venezuela’s Simon Bolivar and Ecuador’s BE Guayas) built by the naval shipyards of Bilboa, Spain.

    Sail San Francisco has hosted Cuauhtemoc in all CA ports as well as in Seaward, AK and Honolulu, HI since 2000. In addition, Sail San Francisco hosted other sail training vessels which were motorized: Zapoteco and Usumacinta.

    Learn more on Wikipedia.org

Tall Ship of the Mexican Navy

Home Port: Acapulco, Mexico

ARM Cuauhtémoc

A large sailing ship with multiple white sails on the ocean, flying the Ecuadorian flag.
A large sailing ship with white sails and multiple red, white, and blue flags sailing on the ocean under a clear blue sky.

  • BE GUAYAS of the Ecuadorian Navy is a 257-foot long, steel-hulled, three-masted barque with 15,200 square feet of sail and is homeported in Guayaquil, Ecuador. She has a crew of 35 officers and 120 enlisted sailors and trainees. Launched in 1978 and named in honor of Chief Guayas, the Guayas River, and the first steamship that was constructed in South America. Guayas was built in Bilbao, Spain where her sister ships were also constructed: Colombia’s ARC Gloria, Venezuela’s Simon Bolivar and Mexico’s Cuauhtemoc.)

    Guayas has been a regular visitor to San Francisco, Monterey and San Diego where Sail San Francisco has received her since her first visit in 1999.

    Learn more on Wikipedia.org

Tall Ship of the Ecuadorian Navy

Home Port: Guyaquil, Ecuador

B.E. Guayas

Esmeralda

Tall Ship of the Chilean Navy

A U.S. Coast Guard tall ship with multiple sails on the ocean under a blue sky.

  • ESMERALDA of the Chilean Navy is a 371-foot steel-hulled four-masted barquentine tall ship whose homeport is Valparaiso, Chile. She carries a complement of 390 crew 90 of whom a midshipman from the Academy’s graduating class. She was built in Cadiz, Spain and launched in 1953, along with Juan Sebastian De Elcano which launched in 1927.

    Sail San Francisco helped to receive Esmeralda in San Diego and Honolulu.

USCGC Eagle

Tall Ship of the American Navy

A large flag with red and white stripes and a coat of arms is flying on a ship. The ship has multiple mast crow's nests with crew members standing in formation, holding onto the rigging.

  • USCG EAGLE, America’s Tall Ship, is a 295-foot three-masted barque which has been training cadets

    since 1946 and is homeported in New London, Connecticut. She carries a crew of eight officers and 50

    enlisted members, and 150 Coast Guard cadets. Built in Germany in 1936 as the Horst Wessel, she was

    acquired by the United States in 1946, renamed Eagle, and remains the only active square-rigger in U.S.

    government service. She is a sister ship of Gorch Fock from Germany, Sagres from Portugal and Mircea

    from Romania. Eagle always leads the Parade of Sail in U.S. ports.

A large sailing ship with three masts, flying a Spanish flag, anchored near smaller boats in a bay with forested hills in the background.

  • BAP UNION is a 378-foot, four-masted, steel-hulled sail training ship homeported in Callao, Peru. She carries a crew of 250 officers and cadets. Built in Peru, she is the largest tall ship in Latin America and was commissioned in 2016. Sail San Francisco has received her in San Francisco as well as having worked with their motor vessel Mollendo multiple times in the past.

    Learn more on Wikipedia.org

Tall Ship of the Peruvian Navy

Home Port: Lima, Peru

B.A.P. Union

Juan Sebastian de Elcano

Tall Ship of the Spanish Navy

  • JUAN SEBASTIAN de ELCANO is a 371-foot, four-masted topsail barquentine which is homeported in Cadiz, Spain. She carries a complement of 300 sailors and 90 midshipmen. She was built in Cadiz, Spain in 1928, and is the third-largest tall ship in the world. She is the sister ship of Chile’s Esmeralda.

    Sail San Francisco hosted Juan Sebastian de Elcano in San Francisco, San Diego and Honolulu.

A large white sailing ship with multiple masts and sails docked in a harbor.

Nipon & Kaiwo Maru

Tall Ship of the Japanese Navy

A large sailing ship with multiple masts and white sails on open water with a cloudy sky.

Nadeshda

A large sailing ship with a Brazilian flag and maritime signal flags on the masts, sailing on water with a distant shoreline and clear sky in background.

Cisne Branco

Tall Ship of the Brazilian Navy

A large, historic sailing ship with multiple masts and black sails, sailing on the ocean with a clear blue sky.

Amerigo Vespucci

A large sailing ship with multiple masts and black sails on the ocean, flying a small flag at the stern.

Ara Libertad

Tall Ship of the Argentinean Navy

A large white sailing ship with multiple sails on the open ocean under a clear blue sky.

  • ARA LIBERTAD, a 340-foot, three-masted, a steel-hulled full-rigged ship, is homeported in Buenos Aires,

    Argentina. She carries a crew of 24 officers, 187 crew, and 150 cadets. She was commissioned in 1963 in Ensenada, Argentina.

Staatsrad Lemkul

A large sailing ship with white sails on the water under a clear blue sky.

Staad Amsterdam

A tall, old sailing ship with masts and rigging is stuck among large ice formations in a polar environment.

Europa

California Tall Ships

We love our local tall ships because they keep sail training going year round. These ships offer elementary and high school programs as well as day sails and multi-day adventure sails. Our local tall ships are generally operated by nonprofit museums or associations. These tall ships also provide great beauty and grace to our coastline - watch for them on the horizon and book a sail!

Tall Ship Seaward, Sausalito | Photo: J.Skoriak

Tall Ship Seaward, Sausalito | Photo: J.Skoriak

Tall Ship Mathew Turner, Sausalito | Photo: J. Skoriak

Tall Ship Mathew Turner, Sausalito | Photo: J. Skoriak

Tall Ship Freda B, Sausalito | Photo: SF Bay Adventures

Tall Ship Freda B, Sausalito | Photo: SF Bay Adventures

Tall Ship Alma, Vallejo | Photo:NPS

Tall Ship Alma, Vallejo | Photo:NPS

Tall Ship Gas Light, Richmond | Photo: Bay Light Charters

Tall Ship Gas Light, Richmond | Photo: Bay Light Charters

Tall Ship Exy Johnson | Photo: Thad Koza

Tall Ship Exy Johnson | Photo: Thad Koza

Tall Ship Irving Johnson | Photo: Thad Koza

Tall Ship Irving Johnson | Photo: Thad Koza

Tall Ship American Pride, Long Beach | Photo: Children's Maritime

Tall Ship American Pride, Long Beach | Photo: Children's Maritime

Tall Ship Californian, San Diego | Photo: SD Maritime Museum

Tall Ship Californian, San Diego | Photo: SD Maritime Museum

Tall Ship HMS Surprise, San Diego | Photo: SD Maritime Museum

Tall Ship HMS Surprise, San Diego | Photo: SD Maritime Museum

Tall Ship Spirit of Dana Point, Dana Point | Photo: Ocean Institute

Tall Ship Spirit of Dana Point, Dana Point | Photo: Ocean Institute

Tall Ship El Salvador, San Diego | Photo: SD Maritime Museum

Tall Ship El Salvador, San Diego | Photo: SD Maritime Museum

  • "The professionalism of your staff, the kindness of the people in your great City of San Francisco and the warm welcome received is the reason we will be back."

    — Captain Bejarano, Colombian navy

Uniformed naval personnel standing in formation during a ceremony or inspection, with spectators in the background.
A tall ship navigating icy waters with icebergs and glaciers surrounding it in an Arctic or Antarctic landscape.
A sailing boat on the ocean with other sailboats in the distance, viewed from the deck of a larger ship.
A large white sailing ship decorated with colorful flags, sailing on the water, with two fighter jets flying overhead in a clear blue sky.
A ship with bright red sails floating among pink and purple clouds in a surreal sky scene.
A shipwreck surrounded by large waves and water spray, with blue sky and mountains in the background.
Group of military officers in white uniforms and caps standing in formation during a ceremony.
Display of ten ornate swords with gold and white handles, arranged on a wooden shelf, with additional swords hanging on hooks below.
A sailboat with a red flag, displaying the Union Jack, sailing on choppy water with two people on board and another boat in the background.
Several sailboats with colorful and white sails sailing near a coastal shoreline with houses and green trees in the background.
Sailing ship with three masts navigating between rocky cliffs at sunset or sunrise.
A group of sailors in colorful uniforms standing on a ship deck during the day, with a body of water and mountains in the background.
Woman painting the side of a boat with a small brush, wearing safety harness, gloves, and glasses, with a pirate-themed figure attached to the boat.
Workers in orange safety vests cleaning the mast of a tall sailing ship with multiple horizontal spars and rigging against a cloudy sky.
Two large sailing ships with billowing white sails on a calm sea under a partly cloudy sky.
A sailing ship on rough ocean waters, with sails partially furled and leaning to one side as it moves through the waves.
People dressed as sailors on the bow of a boat, holding an American flag and posing with dance poses, against a clear blue sky.
People climbing on a tall ship's rigging during daytime, with a clear blue sky.
Flag of Colombia flying on a boat with multiple sailing ships in the water.
A large sailing ship with multiple white sails on the water near a bridge, with several smaller boats and yachts around it.
People on a boat watching the sunset over the Golden Gate Bridge.
Multiple sailboats and motorboats on a body of water with a city skyline in the background, including fountains spraying water and a tall building.
Two military personnel saluting, one in an African camouflage uniform and the other in a formal dress uniform with medals and decorations.
A large sailing ship with black, white, and yellow hull, multiple masts, and sails, flying a small flag at the stern, on calm ocean water under a clear blue sky.
People climbing on the mast of a sailboat with sails raised during daytime
A historic wooden Viking ship with brightly colored sails sailing on the water under a partly cloudy sky.
A wooden sailing ship during a storm with high waves, wet deck, and sails furled, seen from aboard the vessel.
An aerial view of a sailing ship with many ropes and masts on the water, surrounded by numerous smaller boats and yachts, with land and mountains in the background.