ABSTRACT
The afternoon sun was bright on the masts and riggings of an aggregation of major sailing ships that will probably never again be duplicated. It was July 3, 1976, the eve of the bicentennial celebration of the Declaration of Independence of the United States of America, and tall ships from all the nations of the world with seafaring traditions had assembled in Sandy Hook Bay, within sight of the skyline of New York City — awaiting the grand procession past the Statue of Liberty scheduled for the next morning.
