USS Constitution Sets Sail for Last Time Until 2018

The USS Constitution set sail for the final time until 2018 Friday in Boston Harbor. The ship will enter a dry dock following the trip for a planned three-year restoration period.

The event got under way at 10 a.m. and crews fired a 21-gun salute off Fort Independence on Castle Island at 11 a.m. The ship returned at 1 p.m.

Constitution crew members have spent the past week training 150 U.S. Navy chief petty officers on sailing techniques utilized aboard the ship since the 1790s.

Old Ironsides, the world’s oldest commissioned warship still afloat, will get underway for the last time on Friday, Oct. 17 before beginning the restoration process. The October event will not feature any sailing demonstrations, since the ship’s sails will be removed by that time.

Read the WHDH story here.

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