Sail Portsmouth 2026

Photograph by Bob Letourneau

Sail Portsmouth 2026 — A Sunset to Remember
July 23, 2026, was a beautiful, sunny, and warm summer day in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. It was also a very special day for the city, as Sail Portsmouth brought three magnificent tall ships into the harbor: the Dennis Sullivan from Milwaukee, Wisconsin; the Liberty Clipper from Boston, Massachusetts; and the Dutch three-masted topsail schooner Oosterschelde.
I was excited about the opportunity to photograph these beautiful vessels as they participated in the parade of sail. However, I faced two challenges: finding a good location to photograph the ships and, perhaps even more importantly, finding somewhere to park! It was the height of the summer tourist season, and Sail Portsmouth is an extremely popular event.
I decided to visit the office of the M/V Thomas Laighton and speak with Captain Jeremy Bell. I asked if he might have room for Anne-Marie and me aboard the vessel so I could photograph the parade from the water. Captain Bell told me the boat was pretty much full, but he would find room for us.
What a break! Not only would we have a wonderful view of the parade, but I would have the opportunity to photograph the ships from a perspective that would have been impossible to achieve from shore.
I took hundreds of photographs that afternoon, but one image stood out above all the others.
I was shooting from the bow of the Thomas Laighton as we passed the historic Portsmouth Naval Prison, a remarkable old building that once served the U.S. Navy but is no longer in operation.
The sun was setting, casting a dramatic golden-yellow glow across the sky and the water. Leading the parade into the harbor was a U.S. Navy fireboat, while a flotilla of smaller vessels escorted the visiting Dutch tall ship Oosterschelde through the harbor.
The combination of the golden sunset, the historic prison, the Navy fireboat, and the magnificent Dutch schooner created a scene that seemed almost perfectly arranged for the camera.
Out of hundreds of photographs taken that day, this was the one that captured the magic of the moment.
Sometimes, photography is about being in the right place at the right time. But every once in a while, a little luck, a generous captain, and a spectacular New Hampshire sunset come together to create something truly memorable.
This was one of those moments.
Photographed aboard the M/V Thomas Laighton during Sail Portsmouth, July 23, 2026.