September 17 | 12–2pm | Wavertree | Free
Come celebrate Chilean Independence Day at the Seaport Museum’s second annual fonda aboard the tall ship Wavertree. In partnership with the Consul General of Chile in New York, this afternoon of merriment will include a flag raising and traditional Chilean dancing and music.
The festivities will kick off with an opening ceremony at noon. Chilean wine and finger foods will be available on Wavertree and traditional Chilean food will be available for purchase on Pier 16 as part of the program.
Registration is encouraged but walk ups are welcome any time between noon and 2pm.
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Visiting Wavertree includes climbing up a few stairs, up a gangway, and then down a few stairs onto the deck. Masks are optional for this event.
About Chile and the South Street Seaport Historic District
The ties between the Seaport Museum, the South Street Seaport Historic District, and Chile run across history, particularly in the shipping and printing industries.
In 1910, after a 24-years sailing career, Wavertree was caught in a Cape Horn storm that tore down her masts and ended her career as a cargo ship. Rather than re-rigging her, her owners sold her for use as a floating warehouse in Punta Areas, Chile. She was salvaged and used as a floating warehouse and then a sand barge in South America, where waterfront workers referred to her as “el gran Valero,” the great sailing ship, because even without her masts she was a great windjammer.
In addition to the connection with Wavertree, La Voz de América newspaper was founded in the seaport in 1865. Chilean freight and warships, such as the light cruiser “O’Higgins,” were built in the area, and steamships of the Grace Line linked New York with several ports of the Pacific in Latin America, crossing the Panama Canal.
Today, more than 85% of Chile’s trade with the world is done by maritime means, and Chile is the holder of the most Free Trade Agreements in the world, bolstered by its maritime shipping routes. It is the world’s fourth most important user of the Panama Canal, after China, the United States, and Japan.
Tall Ship Wavertree
Wavertree, built in 1885 was operated for many years as a cargo ship sailing around the world.