Tall Ships America (TSA), previously known as the American Sail Training Association (ASTA), is the largest

sail training From its modern interpretations to its antecedents when maritime nations would send young naval officer candidates to sea (e.g., see Outward Bound), sail training provides an unconventional and effective way of building many useful skills on and ...

association in the world and a founding member of

Sail Training International Sail Training International (STI) is an international sail training organisation, with members in 29 countries. Its main aim is to train sailing skills to young people. It is based in Hampshire in the United Kingdom and is a registered charity.UK b ...

. From starting with a handful of vessels sailing the

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

waters, Tall Ships America has grown into an international institution with more than 250

tall ship A tall ship is a large, traditionally- rigged sailing vessel. Popular modern tall ship rigs include topsail schooners, brigantines, brigs and barques. "Tall ship" can also be defined more specifically by an organization, such as for a race or f ...

s and

vessels representing 25 different countries and navigating all the

world In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...

ocean The ocean (also the sea or the world ocean) is the body of salt water that covers approximately 70.8% of the surface of Earth and contains 97% of Earth's water. An ocean can also refer to any of the large bodies of water into which the wor ...

s. TSA was founded on April 3, 1973, by Barclay H. Warburton III, following his return from the

Tall Ships Races The Tall Ships Races are races for sail training "tall ships" ( sailing ships). The races are designed to encourage international friendship and training for young people in the art of sailing. The races are held annually in European waters and ...

in Europe in 1972 where he joined the USCGC ''Eagle'' with his

brigantine A brigantine is a two-masted sailing vessel with a fully square-rigged foremast and at least two sails on the main mast: a square topsail and a gaff sail mainsail (behind the mast). The main mast is the second and taller of the two masts. Ol ...

''Black Pearl'' as the first US vessels to participate in the races.

Mission

A nonprofit

501(c)(3) organization A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of the 29 types of ...

, Tall Ships America's mission is to * encourage character building and

seamanship Seamanship is the art, knowledge and competence of operating a ship, boat or other craft on water. The'' Oxford Dictionary'' states that seamanship is "The skill, techniques, or practice of handling a ship or boat at sea." It involves topics ...

through sail training * promote sail training to the

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and th ...

n public * support education under sail. Tall Ships America organizes the Tall Ships Challenge, a series of sail training races, rallies and maritime festivals that rotate every three years around # the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

# the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the conti ...

# the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...

and coasts of

. In 2016, the Tall Ships Challenge series was held in the Great Lakes. In 2015, the series was held on the

East Coast of the United States The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, the Atlantic Coast, and the Atlantic Seaboard, is the coastline along which the Eastern United States meets the North Atlantic Ocean. The eastern seaboard contains the coa ...

with stops in

Cape Charles, Virginia Cape Charles is a town / municipal corporation in Northampton County, Virginia, United States. The population was 1,009 as of the 2010 Census. History Cape Charles, located close to the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay, on Virginia's Eastern Shore, ...

, Philadelphia, PA/Camden, NJ,

Greenport, Suffolk County, New York Greenport is a village in Suffolk County, on the North Fork of Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 2,197 at the 2010 census. The Incorporated Village of Greenport is located entirely within the Town of Southold and is ...

and

Portland, Maine Portland is the largest city in the U.S. state of Maine and the seat of Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 in April 2020. The Greater Portland metropolitan area is home to over half a million people, the 104th-largest metropo ...

Member vessels

member vessels include:

Awards

Every year TSA awards several prizes including: * lifetime achievement *

leadership Leadership, both as a research area and as a practical skill, encompasses the ability of an individual, group or organization to "lead", influence or guide other individuals, teams, or entire organizations. The word "leadership" often gets v ...

* sail trainer of the year *

volunteer Volunteering is a voluntary act of an individual or group freely giving time and labor for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency rescue. Others serve ...

of the year * Tall Ships Challenge awards

References

{{Authority control Sail training associations Yachting associations Educational organizations based in the United States 1973 establishments in Rhode Island