This sail was the capstone of many years of restoration, designed to fully restore the historic warship to her former glory. For more information on the restoration, visit the Constitution restoration photo gallery. For her first sail she was fitted with six sails - fore, main and mizzen tops'ls (square sails), jib and flying jib, and spanker. The sails were made from Oceanus, a modern, synthetic sail material with the appearance of traditional canvas. The square sails were cut by sailmaker Nathaniel Wilson of East Boothbay, Maine, using a gymnasium as an improvised sail loft. The other sails were made by the Navy in Boston.

On July 8th Constitution was towed from her berth for a trial sail. During this outing she remained tethered to a tug, so she did not officially "sail". On Sunday July 20th she was towed from Boston to Marblehead, where she spent the night. During the trip her sails were unfurled for "sail training under tow". On the 21st she was towed offshore from Marblehead, set her sails, and cast off from the tugs. With a light breeze blowing in at 12 knots, she reached speed of 6 1/2 knots. The historic frigate returned to Boston later that evening. The sail was a complete success.

Throughout this event, Constitution was accompanied by several escorts - the guided missile destroyer Ramage, the guided missile frigate Halyburton, the Coast Guard buoy tender Juniper, the Coast Guard tug Pendant, and three commercial tugs. The Boston Fire Department fireboat, the Massachusetts Port Authority Fireboat, and the Boston Police Department's large patrol boat provided escort through Boston Harbor. Several smaller sailing ships were also in attendance. The Navy's Blue Angels made several passes overhead in their F/A-18 Hornets.

Most of these photos were taken by Edward J. Clear, a descendant of Isaac Hull, Constitution's most famous captain, and are used with permission. A few photos were taken by Gregg Germain.

For more information and photos, visit the Official USS Constitution hompepage and the Official Sail 200 Website.