Canadian navy sails into Portland Wednesday, June 06, 2007

HMCS Saskatoon sails under the Burnside Bridge Wednesday to dock at Tom McCall Waterfront Park in downtown Portland as part of the Rose Festival Fleet. Canadian warships have been participating in the Rose Festival since 1924.

I don't know if it was a race, but the Canadians got here first.

Four Canadian warships are in downtown Portland this week for the Rose Festival's Fleet Week, ahead of U.S. Navy vessels expected to arrive tomorrow.

The 100th annual Rose Festival is a month-long celebration of ... well, just about everything. Anything that's going on in northwestern Oregon between May and July—from the Oregon River Festival to the Salem World Beat Festival—is part of it. Even next weekend's Champ car race counts. Lots of parades and fireworks. You can read all about the festival on their website.

The Canadian part of the fleet includes the Halifax-class frigate HMCS Vancouver, as well as three Kingston-class coastal defence vessels: HMCS Nanaimo, HMCS Saskatoon, and HMCS Brandon. The fleet will be in Portland through Monday morning.