Forty-one tall ships from more than 20 countries are set to sail into New York Harbor over the Fourth of July weekend for Sail 4th 250, a six-day flotilla marking the 250th birthday of the United States. The event, reported by MommyPoppins, runs Friday, July 3 through Wednesday, July 8, and folds in NYC’s annual Fleet Week, which normally lands on Memorial Day weekend. For six days, the ships dock in the harbor and along the city’s rivers, and on certain days you can climb aboard for free.

The best free seats are close to home. On Friday, July 3, from 1 to 3 p.m., the ships run down the East River from the Hell Gate Bridge near Randall’s Island and Astoria all the way to Gravesend Bay in Brooklyn. Domino Park in Williamsburg, Brooklyn Bridge Park and East River Park are the prime viewing spots, and organizers say to get there early.

The bigger procession is Saturday, July 4, from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., when the flotilla comes up the Hudson from the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, through the harbor, and up to the George Washington Bridge. You can watch from waterfronts in Staten Island, New Jersey and Manhattan, including Hudson River Park and Riverside Park. That same morning, the Navy’s Blue Angels are scheduled to do a flyover.