Six Cape Elizabeth teens are on board for the festival.

Man’s fascination with the sea has been documented since ancient times, but no period of shipping has fired the imagination quite like the age of the tall ships.

These majestic vessels, with their multiple masts and yards of sail, opened up the world in a whole new way, particularly in terms of exploration and trade.

This weekend, thousands of people will get the chance to see historic tall ships up close during the three-day Tall Ships Portland festival, which will kick off with a parade of sail at 1:45 p.m. on Saturday, July 18.

Some of the best viewing for the parade, which will include ships from all over the world, will be Fort Williams Park in Cape Elizabeth, as well as Fort Preble and Bug Light Park in South Portland.

Following the parade, the ships will dock in Portland. During the festival most of the vessels will be open to the public, including the chance to sail around Casco Bay.

While people on shore will be jockeying for the best viewpoint, six students from Cape Elizabeth will be enjoying the experience of a lifetime as they get to actually sail on some of the ships taking part.

The students all entered an essay contest, which was sponsored by Tall Ships America, to earn the right to be front and center during the Tall Ships Portland event.

Heather Evans, one of the organizers of the tall ships festival, said that Zoe Evans and Kate Friberg are sailing on the Lynx, which left port in Rhode Island on Sunday.

Peter DiNinno and Alden Siepert are on the Fritha-Fairhaven, which also left from Massachusetts on Sunday, while Cully Richard will have a chance to spend a week on the Oliver Hazard Perry starting on Aug. 9.

The remaining student, Ally Stewart, will sail on the Picton Castle, which leaves from Greenport, N.Y. on Friday.

This week, several of the students talked about their unique opportunity to sail on a tall ship.

Evans, a seventh-grader, said she wanted to be part of the action because it would be “my chance to be a part of history.”

Last year, when replicas of the Nina and the Pinta docked in South Portland for several days, Evans got a chance to board one of the boats.

“I learned so much just walking around,” she said. “They were beautiful. When I heard that the tall ships were coming, I learned there was a chance I could sail on (one) for a week. It was an experience I couldn’t miss.”

Evans is most looking forward to climbing the rigging. She said she’s been doing a lot of reading on sailing to prepare for her adventure.

“One cool thing I learned is that the word starboard – the nautical term for right – originated on Viking ships as the steering paddle was on the right side,” she said.

Her family and friends are “super excited for me (and) my mom says she’s green with envy.”

Friberg wants to be part of the tall ships festival because as a native Mainer, she has “a special appreciation for the ocean and all its mysteries. One of my favorite places is being on my boat with my family and riding the blue waves.”

For her, one of the most exciting parts of sailing on a tall ship will be seeing the “night sky, with its millions of bright stars” far away from land and the attendant light pollution.

“I hope that everyone will appreciate their sheer size and beauty, because they are truly magnificent ships,” Friberg added. “My family and friends are almost as thrilled as I am and can’t wait for (my) pictures and stories. They agree that this is the opportunity of a lifetime and (one) I will remember for the rest of my life.”

Like his fellow students, Richard wanted to be part of the tall ships festival because “this sort of event doesn’t happen very often (and) it is an amazing opportunity.”

He’s also fascinated with the “complexity and ingenuity” that goes into the sailing of a tall ship and is looking forward to “meeting the people who will be on the ship with me – 49 people working as one group with a common goal.”

As for the logistics of viewing the tall ships parade, officials in both Cape Elizabeth and South Portland are asking people to have patience with slow-moving traffic and difficulties in finding parking.

“We are anticipating a very large crowd to view the tall ships” from Fort Williams, said Bob Malley, the director of public works in Cape Elizabeth. “Our department will be bringing in extra staff to help park cars more efficiently.”

Malley warns that there are “limited places to park” and both Shore Road, and many side streets will also be posted with no-parking signs on Saturday afternoon.

In South Portland, Parks and Recreation Director Rick Towle is asking visitors to be respectful of the city’s public parks and to “leave no trace.”

“While we are encouraging people to observe the festival at our wonderful facilities, we ask that while attending they please respect the site and policies, including parking” regulations,” he said.

Towle said the city is also encouraging local residents to use the Greenbelt Walkway to access the parks on Saturday and “to plan ahead so parking is less of an issue.”

Overall, he said, “We are proud people consider our community a great place to view these impressive ships.”

The Bowdoin, a training vessel for the Maine Maritime Academy, as well as Maine’s official sailing vessel, is one of the ships taking part in this weekend’s three-day Tall Ships Portland festival. The Bowdoin was originally built in 1921 for voyages of exploration to the Arctic when she was under the command of Adm. Donald B. MacMillan.Courtesy photo

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