USA: MASSACHUSETTS: USS CONSTITUTION SAILS FOR 1ST TIME IN 116 YEARS

(21 Jul 1997) Natural Sound Near Boston on Monday, thousands of people looked into Massachusetts Bay...for a spectacle not witnessed in more than a century. For the first time in 116 years the USS Constitution, was set free from her usual two lines to sail freely for an hour. The voyage marked the 200th anniversary of the wooden ship's commissioning. The Naval past of the United States came back to life on Monday as one of the oldest serving warships in the world took to the water. Accompanied by a flotilla of boats, the USS Constitution left her anchorage and was towed into Massachusetts Bay on Monday. Tugboats pulled the wooden warship, affectionately known as "Old Ironsides", while a fireboat sprayed water coloured red, white and blue high into the air. Once on the open sea the tugs set her free to begin an hour long sail for the first time in over a century. A flotilla of smaller craft cruised alongside the remarkable ship with thousands of spectators aboard. There was also a reminder of the modern day marine power of the United States in the form of the frigate, Halyburton and the destroyer, Ramage which accompanied their ageing cousin through the water. And from the air modern fighter jets also turned out to pay their respects. "Old Ironsides" was launched in 1797 as one of the Navy's first warships. She was undefeated in 30 engagements, and her victory over the British HMS Guerriere in 1812 signalled America's arrival as a naval power. She earned her nickname because soldiers were astonished when British cannonballs bounced off her hull. The last time the ship sailed on her own was in 1881 but little seemed to have changed over one hundred years later. Few wooden warships have survived and no other ship of her age can still sail. The ship has repeatedly survived being on the chopping block, first thanks to a poem which immortalised "Old Ironsides" as a patriotic symbol and next by a public subscription during the Depression. Recently, a 12 (m) million dollar restoration was completed just in time for her 200th birthday. The Constitution originally carried 36 sails but only six had been reproduced for the history making sail. The sails were the same configuration the 204-foot ship used in battle. It took three and a half years to return the 44-gun Constitution to seagoing condition. Even the crew of the ship were dressed for the occasion. Naval officers were decked out in period costume for the day and seamen climbed the rigging as their forefathers would have done. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...