Hazard Perry hosts tours

NEWPORT – The SSV Oliver Hazard Perry, the Ocean State’s official sailing education vessel, hosted more than 12,000 people for onboard tours at the Volvo Ocean Race this month.
Four days prior, Gov. Gina M. Raimondo had declared the state’s new 240-foot long pier at Fort Adams State Park officially “open” and the pier the ship’s permanent home.
The ribbon-cutting ceremony for the pier was part of the opening of the Volvo Ocean Race Village, built to accommodate a festive stopover for racers making their way around the world in a grueling global sailing contest.
This was the first time the general public had been invited to tour the ship since 2013 when Oliver Hazard Perry Rhode Island, the non-profit organization behind her, hosted a dedication ceremony at Fort Adams during an earlier phase of her construction. The tall ship also is the first ocean-going, full-rigged ship to be built in the U.S. in 100 years.
A different type of vessel than the racing yachts, the 200-foot long, three-masted SSV Oliver Hazard Perry had a constant flow of visitors boarding, then circulating on deck and below for a closer look at her rigging and living and teaching spaces.
The tall ship includes a towering rig, the tallest part of which reaches 13½ stories high; a total of 19 spars that have been turned from massive Douglas fir trees on the largest spar lathe in North America; seven miles of rope and wire that have been made integral to the ship’s operation by tradesmen trained in both modern and traditional rigging techniques; and 20 sails, both square and fore-and-aft that total 14,000 square feet.
Below deck, she accommodates 49 people on ocean voyages in a climate-controlled environment, with a modern galley, science lab and a full array of electronic navigation and communication gear.
The tall ship is getting ready to offer academic and experiential learning programs to teachers and students. The ship is now nearly complete and will return to Hinckley Boatyard in Portsmouth to continue her final phase of construction, with a U.S. Coast Guard inspection and testing.
The nonprofit Oliver Hazard Perry Rhode Island is seeking 50 new plank owners to reach 500 contributing members. Plank owners each have invested $1,000 or more toward completion of the Perry and enjoy privileges such as invitations to exclusive events, prominent recognition on the ship and at events, and a signature OHPRI orange cap.

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