Sail the ocean blue: where to get nautical

After writing about a major world trade seaport like Rotterdam, I’m feeling quite nautical.

My article for Education.com about New England’s maritime heritage just came online as well.

Where else can you take your kids to see “ships and stuff?”

Here are some spots:

• Restored ports and waterfronts like Mystic Seaport in Connecticut or Hannibal, Missouri on the Mississippi River.
• Historic sailing vessels: investigate Old Ironsides from 1812 (the USS CONSTITUTION in Boston Harbor,) the Star of India in San Diego, the Golden Hinde in London, the USS CONSTELLATION in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor or the 1877 barque Elissa in Galveston.
• Vintage Navy ships: See Japan’s battleship MIKASA in Yokosuka, near Tokyo, the USS ALABAMA in Mobile Bay AL, the USS MIDWAY in San Diego or the USS LEXINGTON in Corpus Christi TX.
• The magnificent Tall Ships make a US Pacific coast swing in 2008, stopping in British Columbia, Washington State and California (I’d love to see them July 23-27, 2008 at the San Francisco Festival of Sail, since I plan to be in the area during that time for the BlogHer08 blogging conference.) For more info, see the American Sail Training Association.
• Collections of ships to climb all over: the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park at Fisherman’s Wharf, Nauticus in Norfolk Virginia, Norwegian ships like the Kon-Tiki on Olso‘s Bygdoy Peninsula, the Maritime Museum of San Diego, Fall River Massachusetts Battleship Cove, the Vasamuseet in Stockholm, ships at the Jamestown Settlement in Virginia and the UK’s Portsmouth Historic Dockyard (which includes Admiral Nelson’s ship from the Battle of Trafalgar, the HMS VICTORY.)

Arrrgh, matey! Did I miss anything, or is this post shipshape?