Special alert for all lovers of sailing ships, Decemberists fans ^[1], and people who once wanted to be pirates — oddly enough, I fall into all three categories — today, starting at noon, 32 full-masted ships will begin a 1 1/2-hour parade in the San Francisco Bay. ^[2] To quote the event webpage:

These majestic marvels of medieval engineering, from ports of call all over the world, will make their way past thousands of spectators lining Crissy Field, Marina Green, Fort Mason, Aquatic Park, and locations all along the Embarcadero. The first vessel will pass under the Golden Gate Bridge at Noon. The Parade will last approximately 1 1/2 hours from start (at the Golden Gate Bridge) until the finish (Bay Bridge). Once the vessels pass under the Bay Bridge they will sail to their respective berths. Vessels will be open for tours beginning Thursday July 24th at 10:00 am.

That’s right, folks: from Thursday you’ll be able to walk the boards, though hopefully not the planks ^[3], of these wonderful things. The parade and subsequent events are organized by the San Francisco Maritime National Park Association ^[4].

Sorry about the short notice, but I just learned about this event ten minutes ago. I’m going to rush out to Crissy Field right now; photos will be posted later.
[Source: SF Funcheap.com ^[5]]