The WaterFront Center is hosting the annual Oyster Festival on the weekend of Oct. 16 and 17. Over the years they have welcomed various tall ship sailing vessels and this year, the Gazela-Philadelphia is returning to the festival.

"It is the WaterFront Center's pleasure and privilege to welcome her to the festival! It will be an exciting and interesting adventure to tour the ship, so come on down! Hope to see you there," said Jamie Deming, WFC interim general manager and board treasurer.

The Gazela-Philadelphia is a barkentine, a three-masted ship which sails the Delaware River and the Atlantic Coast year round. She is not-for-profit and is crewed by volunteers. One of them, Bobby who spent the summer sailing aboard the ship explained that the ship is a cross between a square rigger and a schooner.

She was aboard the ship as a volunteer crew member when it came to Oyster Bay for the Oyster Festival during the '90s. She remembered that Friday night when there were very high winds. "The Gazela saved the dock at the Oyster Bay Marine Center," she said. The ship was docked there when a windstorm blew over the harbor. The ship was tied to the tall pilings and saved the dock she explained, "by turning out our engines so the current wouldn't put a strain on the lines. The dock would have been gone in a few hours without their help," she said.

The other two days of the festival the weather was fine, she remembered. Ships usually arrive in Oyster Bay on Friday for the weekend festival.

Bobby said, "The Gazela is coming into Oyster Bay on Friday night, dependent on the tide. It is leaving late Wednesday for the two-day cruise to Oyster Bay. There is no word as yet [as we spoke on Friday, Oct. 8] as to the weather," she said.

You can get a souvenir of the Gazela as you tour the ship which will be docked at the Tall Ship Pier. They will have t-shirts and pens for purchase.

The Gazela-Philadelphia was built as a cod fishing vessel in the 1800s, but is now owned and run by the Philadelphia Ship Preservation Guild, a non-profit group, in Pennsylvania for tall ship and maritime education and sail training. She sails as a goodwill ambassador for the city of Philadelphia, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the Ports of Philadelphia.

Gazela-Philadelphia hosts various programs such as intensive sail training for crew and apprentices who also educate the public at her dockside visits on tall ship sailing and life aboard a 178-foot tall ship. She is also taking on a new program with marine education to work with disadvantaged youth in Philadelphia and has also been a part of some hit films, such as Interview with a Vampire.

Folks walking onto the tall ship pier may be asked to make a donation, but it is only a suggestion. The money supports bringing the ships to Oyster Bay.

Also at the tall ships pier will be the Nantucket Lightship and several vessels from the US Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point. They will send the Growler again. The boat is used for public relations for the Merchant Marines and cadets will be at the dock in uniform to talk to the public about the job of their branch of service duirng peace and war.

The Nantucket Lightship is smaller than the Gazela, but not by very much. It is 150 feet long and it is actually a replacement for the original boat. Fritz Coudert, board president of the WaterFront Center explained the Nantucket Lightship's job was to guard the Shoals of Nantucket. There were two more of her class, but smaller at 90 feet that were built. The British on board the Olympia, a sister ship of the Titanic, ran into the original Nantucket in a fog and sank her. "In a very British-stiff-upper-lip way, they said they felt terribly sorry and would build her replacement, which they did."

Mr. Coudert said they are hoping to surprise Oyster Festival visitors with the sight of the ship's light being turned on. "It is not functioning now. We are trying to use it for a brief time during the festival. It has not been working for some 20 odd years," he said. Mr. Coudert is on the board of the Lightship Museum in Staten Island, which owns the Nantucket.

Lance Elder, co-chair of the 21st Oyster Festival has been working with the assistance of Congressman Peter King to bring the US Army Field Band to the Oyster Festival. They will be playing on Sunday, Oct. 17 at the WaterFront Center. There will be three performances on the Main Stage at noon, 2 p.m. and 4 p.m.

Mr. Elder, the CEO of the Education Assistance Corporation and a resident of East Norwich is taking part in the planning of the Oyster Festival for the first time. He brings his experience working with both corporations and government, as past director of the Nassau County Coliseum. He explained, "The Volunteers of the United States Army Field Band of Washington D.C. is a five-piece show band that blends the sound of county music, western music, rock and roll, ballads and top 40 hits. They are an unbelievable group. I've heard many of their CDs."

These musicians are equally at home performing before an outdoor crowd of 100,000, in formal concert settings, or at a hospital bedside. They have entertained audiences of all ages in venues raging from state fair main stages and school auditoriums to senior citizen centers and children's hospitals. They are part of the Army's community relations program and have received their Award of Excellence.

In addition, US Army will be coming in with a recruiting unit with a rock climbing wall and an Army Humvey. The US Navy is bringing a 40-foot model of an aircraft carrier. Their recruiters will be there also. The Marines are coming on Sunday with Humvies and a chinning bar, said Mr. Elder.

"It will be a lot of fun. They are bringing a lot to the table. Next year we are trying for ships to come to the festival. Hopefully they will be expanding their involvement in 2005," he said.

ldelphia under full sail. In the harbor ships travel under motor-power. Wind power is not reliable inside small quarters. The ship design is a combination of a square rigger and a schooner.