The Tall Ship Providence Has Found a Home on the Alexandria Waterfront

What I’ve always loved about Old Town is the hypnotic flicker of the gas lamps at night that light the doorways of their historic homes taking you back in time. If you listen just close enough you can almost hear the horse hooves pounding the cobblestones…their whinnying as they come to a stop and drop their passengers at their destination.

At the Tall Ship Providence, I feel this again– before I even step aboard. At the entrance I’m greeted by a member of the crew with a fountain pen who asks me to sign the manifest and select my role in the Continental Navy. I hastily choose “carpenter” while my host, Clair Sassin, picks “gunner.” My card reads, “It’s early fall 1776 and it’s a challenging time for the newly independent nation. In times of battle, you will be responsible for plugging holes in the hull to keep the ship afloat under fire from the enemy ship.” Wait, can I switch with Clair?! 

If you’ve walked along the Alexandria waterfront in recent months, it’s likely you’ve spotted this ship. If you haven’t, you definitely need to take a stroll. While I enjoy an official tour and try to get Captain John Paul Jones to break character with my ridiculous questions (he never does), Clair shares how the ship came to call Alexandria home. 

“It took a handful of business people to purchase the ship,” says Clair, who is president and CEO of the Tall Ship Providence Foundation. “Alexandria was an important port city, but yet there was no ship. We went to the city manager and created a cabinet to see what was going to work and what wasn’t. The ship needed to be big enough to be an attraction, yet small enough to sail the Potomac. It also needed to be historic in nature. And it needed a fiberglass hull, otherwise the maintenance would be extremely tough.”

The ship was purchased in August 2017; it had previously been under private ownership in Rhode Island. Clair, who has served in previous roles as the executive director of the Naval Historical Foundation, director of marketing and communications at KPMG’s Washington office, and had her own company for over 14 years, joined in 2018. With a three-person board, she hired and built a complete staff to bring the vision to life. 

The restoration was finished in October 2019, and a few weeks later the late Senator John Warner agreed to lend his name to the initiative as he loved everything it stood for. In 2020, planning began on the Senator John Warner Maritime Heritage Center, the home port of Tall Ship Providence. After a two million dollar renovation, it opened this past June with a floating museum and interactive program that immerses visitors in the challenges and conditions faced by the Continental Navy in the late 18th century.

“All the crew are actors with storytelling experience,” she shares. And they are good. From the moment you enter, you’re brought back in time, and visitors are engaged every step of the way. “Kids love it, adults love it, a lot of local people, and of course, those who travel to our small city.” As the winner of a 2023 TripAdvisor Choice Award, the five-star reviews confirm this. 

Clair adds, “I love that we can engage the community in this way. Everyone we’ve met with has been very supportive, Mayor Wilson and the City Council, Visit Alexandria and especially the local business community. We also work closely with a lot of restaurants, as this is an added attraction that both entertains and educates. Who says economic development isn’t fun?” 

The Tall Ship Providence Foundation built and owns everything on the platform. When Clair speaks, it’s clear to see how passionate she is about this project, “it’s been my life for the past five years. I have one child, and now I have a second. I feel extremely honored to lead this. Opening day was amazing. The community has been so welcoming. We keep hearing ‘we really needed this. It’s a great addition to the waterfront.’ We look forward to doing more and more programs with the community, and I’m grateful for our amazing staff and board.” 

If your organization is looking to support, Clair says they’re looking for a few more donors. “We want to name the Education Center and the Naval History Theater. Dominion Energy just became a sponsor of the gift shop, which also has plenty of unique gifts for the holidays.” 

Tall Ship Providence is open year-round for tours on the weekends, check their site for hours. The sailing season just closed at the end of October, but will reopen mid-March during the week. And they plan on adding a lot more sails in 2024. This past season they hosted speciality cruises every Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The ship is available for charter, too. Their day tours focus more heavily on kids since it’s an especially interactive experience. They’re currently in the midst of creating a program for fourth graders as their history lessons coincide with the historical time of the ship, sponsored by HII.

Clair says, “We’re always looking for more tour guides and deck hands, and we’re happy to teach. Our captain and bosun (highest ranking member on a crew) have been great at training. And we also have volunteers that come and crew.” 

If you want an unbelievable vantage point for the Alexandria Boat Parade, they’re hosting a special dockside viewing party, Saturday December 7 from 5- 7 PM. Details here. And with holiday party season approaching, the accompanying outdoor venue can be a unique place to toast the year’s successes, reach out to: events@tallshipprovidence.org