Tall Ships Tacoma 2008
(a chronology of published articles)
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Tacoma wins Tall Ships award The hundreds of thousands of volunteer hours that South Sounders invested in Tacoma’s 2008 Tall Ships Festival paid off Saturday as the city was named Port of the Year for the second time. Time to start work on Tall Ships Tacoma 2011 The weather could have been better. The crowds could have been bigger. But,
on its final day Monday, organizers called the Tacoma Tall Ships 2008 a
success, and vowed to begin work on bringing the ships back in three
years – just as soon as they finish crunching the numbers from this
year’s event. “Everyone I’ve spoken
to wants to see this happen again,” festival spokesman Matthew Erlich
said. Some 50,000 people visited on Monday, bringing the total estimate for the five-day
festival to 400,000, Erlich said. That’s far less than
the estimated 700,000 who came to the 2005 festival, but organizers were
much more conservative with their estimates this time around. This year’s number is
based on estimates from aerial photos, parking lot usage and
consultation with police, Erlich said. It’s difficult to measure
precise attendance because admission to the festival was free, Erlich
said, although boarding and sailing tickets were sold. “I think the rain had a
bigger impact on the number of visitors than we originally hoped,”
Erlich said. There was more open space along the waterfront during
Thursday’s Parade of Sail than there was in 2005, he noted. The busiest day was
Sunday, with an estimated 150,000 visitors. The lines to board the most
popular ships were sometimes longer than two hours that day, and
organizers heard complaints from some visitors who waited, then found
the ship they wanted to visit was out sailing. That’s one of the
issues that will be examined as organizers debrief, Erlich said.
Organizers might consider going to a timed ticket system or creating a
better schedule of the sailings, he said. It will likely be a few
weeks until organizers know how the event fared financially, Erlich
said. Despite the lower overall attendance, the paid tickets appeared to
do well, he said. Jonathan Harley, race
director for the American Sail Training Association, described this
year’s event as simply “fantastic.” “It far surpasses what
they did in 2005,” said Harley in a news release. His group organizes
the tall ships’ annual tour and race. No arrests were made
during the festival. Two people were removed from the event, Tacoma
police spokesman Mark Fulghum said. “It was an
exceptionally good crowd,” he said. Law enforcement officers
worked the festival round-the-clock. Thirty-four Tacoma police officers
staffed the event Thursday, Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.,
while 20 Tacoma officers worked from 9 p.m. to 9 a.m. each of those
days. Fourteen officers from other law enforcement agencies worked on
the Fourth. Staffing was reduced
Monday because of smaller crowds. The festival received
praise from the ships and the nearby maritime museum, but one vendor
said it was a struggle to break even. Catherine Collins, the
executive director of the nonprofit organization that runs the
Adventuress, said the Tacoma stop was a success for the Port
Townsend-based schooner. “This has been the best
exposure the Adventuress has had in years,” she said. “This has been
a really, really great festival for us.” The crew of the HMCA
Oriole also lauded festival organizers. The Canadian Naval ship saw more
than 1,850 people board Sunday, her busiest day. The response was
overwhelming, Master Seaman Don Read said. The festival led to
record turnouts at the Foss Waterway Seaport Museum, which was free
during the event. The displays of vintage boats, antique telephones and
old engines drew more than 15,000 people Friday, about 10,000 each on
Saturday and Sunday, and a little fewer Monday. “Clearly, the scale of
this is tremendous,” said Tom Cashman, executive director of the Foss
Waterway Seaport. “We’re extremely, extremely happy.” Not everyone was. Chris Waggoner, the
co-owner of Brothers BBQ of Puyallup, said his business was lucky
because he received a spot in Treasure Cove Village, where the Class A
ships were docked and the largest crowds congregated. He paid $3,000 for
the spot and grossed about $9,000. After supplies and labor, he said he
was barely in the black for the festival. “The fee was a little
excessive considering the crowd they had last time didn’t show up this
time,” he said adding that the business did better in one day at the
Meeker Days festival in Puyallup in June than it did during all of Tall
Ships. Throughout the festival,
Michelle Merritt, a Tall Ships Tacoma organizer, said she had been
hearing from people who want more. The ASTA Tall Ships
Challenge comes to the West Coast every three years, but there are many
beautiful ships based on the West Coast. Creating an annual festival
around them is a possibility, she said. ASTA contracts with
communities to put on Tall Ships events. In 2005, ASTA awarded Tacoma
“Port of the Year” honors. This year’s selection – dependent in
large part on the vote of vessel captains – will be announced at an
ASTA conference Nov. 14-16. Staff writers Stacey
Mulick and Kathleen Merryman contributed to this report. To date (June 20, 2008), Tall Ships Tacoma 2008 will include the following vessels: Forecast: Smoother sailing for Tall Ships Tacoma Tall Ships Tacoma promises
to draw 31 ships, 2,000 volunteers and hundreds of thousands of visitors
during the four-day festival this week. Such numbers could mean a
logistical nightmare for the city government and the small nonprofit
running the event. Instead, with lessons learned from the 2005 festival,
city leaders and Tall Ships organizers are certain they’re prepared to
handle the influx of people and activity when the festival begins
Thursday. All volunteer shifts are filled to staff
what will likely be the largest event in Tacoma this year. About 550
people will work security. And a $300,000 agreement with the City of
Tacoma will provide necessary services. The Tacoma Tall Ships Organization was
buzzing last week in preparation. Phones rang constantly. Tables and
chairs for volunteers crammed what in recent months was the boardroom.
The organization moved into a bigger site this weekend as the scope of
its work grew. The organization’s
executive director, David Doxtater, recently moved into a Tacoma hotel.
His 90-minute commute from Bainbridge Island became just too much. "There’s so much to
do here," he said Tuesday, "and I need those few extra hours I
usually spend commuting." And the level of activity
should only intensify as Thursday’s Parade of Sail nears. The organization has already raised about
60 percent of its $2.5 million budget, said Lorraine Ralston, director
of communications and volunteers. On-site ticket sales, parking charges,
the beer gardens, merchandise and other festival revenue should account
for the remainder. "There’s still work
to do, but everyone’s really excited around here," Ralston said.
"We’re pumped about it." Organizers are preparing for
more than 700,000 visitors – or enough to fill the Tacoma Dome at its
maximum capacity more than 30 times – to attend the four-day festival.
Planners use the 2005 attendance as their guide; the inaugural festival
drew between 700,000 and 800,000 visits based on police estimates of the
crowd at the Parade of Sail, the length of lines and the number of
personal watercraft, spokesman Matthew Erlich said. Most of the sailing
expedition tickets were sold as of Saturday afternoon, according to the
Tall Ships Web site. The traffic to the organization’s Web site has
spiked to about 10,000 hits per week. Organizers didn’t meet all
their original goals. They hoped to sign up 4,000 volunteers but
received about half of that. Doxtater said they’ve adapted by doing
more with less, and that all 10,000 volunteer shifts have been filled. "Early on, we were
guessing as to how many bodies we needed for those shifts," he
said. "But volunteers have started taking on more shifts. And that’ll
be a good thing, because there will be more consistency throughout the
festival." CITY SERVICES City of Tacoma officials
think they’re ready for the event. They began meeting last winter to
prepare, and have come up with a plan for handling everything from
police and parking requirements to meeting the sewer and fresh-water
needs of the ships, said Tansy Hayward, assistant city manager. In retrospect, organizers
and city departments weren’t prepared for the size of the 2005 event.
The city and the Tacoma Events Commission, the nonprofit that organized
the first festival, haggled for months afterward over a bill for police,
fire and public works services. This time, the city came in with a bigger
commitment, but more clarity about its level of involvement. The city’s contract with
the Tacoma Tall Ships Organization details police, fire and public works
staffing levels, along with the estimated cost of the services. Police
alone will cost an estimated $232,000, according to the contract. The
cost will come from the $300,000 that the city agreed to pay either in
cash or in-kind services. The Police Department is
bringing in officers from other agencies, including the Washington State
Patrol, to help with staffing both the Tall Ships celebration and
Freedom Fair, Tacoma’s Fourth of July celebration along Ruston Way. The Public Works Department
– which handles things such as installing and removing barricades,
street sweeping and portable toilets – is expected to spend about
$52,000. Fire services – which include medics– are expected to cost
between $41,000 and $46,000. If the city’s expenses
total more than $300,000, the contract obligates the Tall Ships
organization to pay for the city’s services. THE BENEFITS In exchange for its $300,000, the city
receives: • Designation as a Tall
Ships sponsor. • Free admission for the
public to events on the Thea Foss esplanade, including viewing of the
Parade of Sail, views of the ships from the esplanade, three stages with
entertainment, and a mock cannon battle. • Enhanced access for
people with disabilities. This was a problem in the 2005 event, city
officials said. The contract calls for an accessible viewing areas,
program supplements that outline accessibility options, a staffed
information booth to assist people with disabilities, and accessible
event transportation. • A city booth. City
officials will use it to promote employment with the City of Tacoma. Because it’s the second
time around, officials had some idea what to expect, Hayward said. "It seems like it’s
been very well planned," she said. Doxtater, a veteran event
planner, called the level of cooperation from the city
"unprecedented." He worked primarily with the city manager’s
office but said each agency was helpful. "I can’t imagine a
better partner," he said. "They are so supportive. They’re
doing things that I’ve never seen happen in festivals. They really are
good communicators and good managers. They really care what we’re
doing and they want to make it friendly for the community. "They’ve taught us
– we’re a fairly new organization – how to move through city
government and communicate with who we need to. We don’t feel like
outsiders at all. It almost seems magical what’s going on, that Tall
Ships and the city have so much energy. They just reach out and help us
think of things we haven’t thought of." ‘A BROADER RANGE OF SHIPS’ The number of ships
participating in the festival is down one, to 31, after the Army Reserve
barge dropped out. Ralston said its place in the festival was tentative
from the start. That’s up from 25 participating in the 2005 festival,
which included the 356-foot Pallada and the 270-foot Cuauhtemoc. Those big girls won’t be
back, but many of the 2005 fleet is returning. In addition, this year’s
festival scored the 266-foot Coast Guard Eagle and "movie
star" ships the Bounty ("Mutiny on the Bounty") and the
Niña ("1492"). "We’re bringing in a
broader range of ships," Doxtater said. "We have premium
ships. We’ll have the Niña, the Bounty, the Kaisei, the Eagle." The community has already played a large
role in the event, he said. More than 60 companies are sponsoring the
event or individual ships. The sponsors underwrite the costs of the
ships and receive tickets, signage on the ships and the opportunity to
participate in an onboard party. About 200 people have bought individual
and family memberships in the organization; the goal was 100. And several local labor unions have
donated hours of work. A carpenters union is erecting stairs, ramps and
other platforms for free. An electricians union is wiring the festival. "That’s the story for
me: the community," Doxtater said. "So many volunteers are
working so many shifts. The unions are involved. The city is involved to
such a large degree. This community is amazing." Tall Ships Festival Sails Into Tacoma
In just a couple of weeks, 30 majestic tall ships will sail to the head of Puget Sound in Washington State, USA for the Tall Ships Tacoma 2008 Festival. The celebrations will take place at Tacoma’s Commencement Bay July 3–7. A sample of this year’s highlights include: Organization.~Sail-World Cruising Tall Ships
Tacoma: Organizers hard at work for July festival The concrete floats bobbed and swayed in the Thea Foss Waterway when workers walked on them. Scraps of rusted metal, pipes, dried and broken barnacles and multicolored frayed wiring littered the top of the dozen concrete pieces held together with thick metal cables. The four men were transforming the floats – formerly part of a marina in Seattle – into a pedestrian dock for this summer’s Tall Ships Tacoma. “We’re donating our time to help Tall Ships clean up their docks and get ready for their festivities,” said Kenneth Thomsen, who was working with a four-man crew on the docks last month. “And once we get these cleaned up, they’ll get more refurbishing elsewhere. “It’s nice to play a part in Tall Ships.” The platform, like the festival, needs a lot of early work. And both are the beneficiaries of early planning. “We’re busier in the office now than we were a month before it began last time,” in 2005, said festival spokesman Matthew Erlich. The plans for this year’s festival, July 3 through 7, are starting to solidify. The event three years ago drew hundreds of thousands of attendees despite last-minute scrambling by organizers. This time, a nonprofit organization with a paid staff has been hard at work for months. The Tacoma Tall Ships Organization has a 14-member volunteer board and 15 employees. Veteran event organizer David Doxtater of Bainbridge Island is executive director. And the buzz is growing in the Tall Ships community. “Tacoma and Victoria will be the two big contenders for port of the year,” said Les Bolton, a member of the board of directors of the American Sail Training Association. “They’ve got an organized group, and the word I’m getting from the vessels is that everyone’s getting what they’re needing. It’s always less surprising the second time around.” FLEET TAKES SHAPE Thirty-two ships have accepted invitations to appear, an increase of seven from 2005. Seventeen will be repeat visitors. It’s obvious which will be the marquee sight in the Thea Foss Waterway: The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Eagle. The stately 266-footer is the federal government’s only commissioned sailing vessel, and it acts as a training ship for Coast Guard officers. It was built in Germany in 1936 and taken by the United States as a war prize after World War II. There will be no charge to tour it. Three other Class A ships, as defined by their large size or traditional rigging, are coming: The HMS Bounty (a replica of the infamous Royal Navy vessel), the Niña (a replica of one of the ships Christopher Columbus used to reach the New World) and the Kaisei (a 151-foot Japanese brigantine). The possibility remains that several bigger ships will still sign up. “There are still outstanding invitations to Class A ships from South America,” said Erlich. Several smaller ships are noteworthy. The HMCS Oriole is the oldest commissioned vessel in the Canadian Navy. The 23-foot Bounty of Krister is a replica of the longboat aboard which the Bounty mutineers placed Capt. William Bligh. The he 107-foot Merrie Ellen will be compliant with the American with Disabilities Act. All 32 invitations to Class B and Class C ships were accepted, Erlich said. $2.5 MILLION BUDGET The festival ended up with a deficit from the 2005 event, mainly because of a larger-than-expected bill for public safety services from the City of Tacoma. Organizers and representatives from the City of Tacoma are negotiating on a price for public services, such as police officers for security, and Tall Ships board members believe the bill will be less than the $280,000 the city charged in 2005. Erlich said the organization is on track to reach its revenue goals for its $2.5 million budget. Tall Ships Tacoma has signed up more than 20 sponsors, with State Farm as the presenting sponsor. Several companies – and one city government – have “adopted” ships, including local companies such as Columbia Bank (the Zodiac), Russell Investments (Lynx), KeyBank (Cutty Sark) and Windermere (Amazing Grace). The City of Fife has adopted the Lady Washington. The sponsors underwrite the costs of the ships and receive tickets, signage on the ships and the opportunity to participate in an on-board party. The Tacoma Tall Ships Organization is also shoring up its finances with individual and family memberships. By joining, members get the first dibs on boarding passes, starting March 15, and receive a 10 percent discount on Tall Ships Tacoma merchandise and other perks, Erlich said. “People becoming members help sustain the effort for our next festival in 2011,” he said. SETTING THE STAGE The festival will be split into three “villages” along the waterway. The current plan looks like this: • Northwest Passage, on the south end of the Thea Foss near the Museum of Glass, features Class B and C ships and an “age of sail” historic-living encampments. • Tradewinds, farther north, features the Niña, a landing area for water taxis, booths offering international music, and food vendors. • Treasure Cove will be near the Foss Waterway Museum and will be home to the Class A ships. The Foss Waterway Seaport, which has sponsored the Eagle, is undergoing renovations, including restoration of the wharf and the esplanade as part of a $24 million overhaul to be finished by 2011. The project also includes improvements to the 107-year-old Balfour Building, improved moorage facilities and more open space. Even with a paid staff, volunteers will play a huge role in this summer’s event. Erlich said the organization has signed up more than 1,000 people, but it needs about another 3,000. There are many duties available, but organizers are particularly searching for people with a boat who can help with ship escort or security, people with sailing experience who can act as a ship liaison and people with customer service or ticket sales experience. More details – including the security plan with Tacoma police – are still in progress. But Stan Selden, a committee member in 2005 and co-chairman of this year’s event, said organizers are far ahead of where they were three years ago. “It’s more experienced group,” he said, “and we’ve learned from the trials and errors from last time.” SHIPS AHOY! Tall Ships! Can we? Please, please, please?
Big coup for Tall Ships festival
The Coast Guard training vessel the Eagle, a three-masted sailing barque dubbed “America’s Tall Ship,” will visit Tacoma next summer over the Fourth of July. The organizers of Tacoma’s 2008 Tall Ships festival received the news Friday from the Coast Guard. “It’s an absolute coup,” said Joe Jadwin, Tall Ships Tacoma 2008 board president. “For the Fourth of July, to have her in Tacoma, it’s unparalleled.” The Eagle is the only square-rigged sailing ship in U.S. government service, according to the Coast Guard. It was commissioned the Horst Wessel by Germany in 1936, and was used by the Nazis to train navy cadets. The U.S. took it as a war prize in 1946. It now serves as a seagoing classroom for about 175 cadets and instructors from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. Its home port is New London, Conn. The Coast Guard announced the Eagle’s 2008 training schedule Friday. It includes stops all along the West Coast, including in Astoria, Ore., and Victoria, B.C. It will be in Tacoma from July 4 through July 7, coinciding with the Tall Ships festival. The Eagle is one of seven ships with signed commitments to come to Tacoma, organizers told The News Tribune. There are hand-shake agreements with an additional 22 vessels. Tacoma was host to the city’s first Tall Ships festival in 2005. Several hundred thousand people came to the city’s waterfront to attend the event. But organizers said there was plenty of room for improvement in the planning. They told The News Tribune editorial board that they’ve focused on: • Youth education. Organizers are working with schools to develop after-school activities, said event co-chair Clare Petrich. They also intend to bring 50 young people to Victoria and allow them to help sail to Tacoma. • Sponsorship. Donors have pledged $400,000 of the minimum $640,000 organizers hope to raise through sponsorships. They hope to receive as much as $1 million. The total event budget is approximately $2 million. • Infrastructure. The state Legislature approved $1 million for waterfront improvements, and organizers obtained approximately 1,300 feet of donated dock from Seattle’s Shilshole Bay Marina. • Relations with the Coast Guard and the Tacoma Police Department. Event co-chair Stan Selden said the group has been meeting regularly with both organizations, and is close to an agreement with the City of Tacoma. The 2005 event was followed by a billing dispute between organizers and the city over police overtime costs. Next summer’s event will disperse activities into four “villages,” including one downtown away from the water. Each activity center will feature an entertainment stage, food booths, educational programs and visitor services. The villages will be connected by shuttle. More than 400 volunteers have signed up to help. Organizers are hoping for 2,000. You can help. To volunteer for the 2008 Tall Ships festival, call 253-284-3263 or e-mail info@tallshipstacoma.com Pirate-themed fundraiser digs up bounty for Tall Ships
Organizers of Tall Ships Tacoma 2008 made off with more than $50,000 at Saturday’s Buccaneer Bash, the inaugural fundraiser for next summer’s return of the popular sailing ships that captivated the city two years ago. More than 500 people attended the sold-out invitation-only event along Tacoma’s waterfront, said Michelle Merritt, director of administration and volunteers for Tall Ships Tacoma. The party served not only as a fundraiser, but was also as a chance to raise awareness about the 2008 event, Merritt said. “It was a chance to activate the community, to tell them ‘Hey, Tall Ships are coming back,’” she said. In 2005, hundreds of thousands of people crowded Tacoma’s waterfront to visit dozens of high-masted sailing ships. Tall Ships Tacoma 2008 is scheduled for July 3-7, 2008. The weekend bash brought five ships to Tacoma. Two of them – the Lady Washington and Hawaiian Chieftain – are scheduled to remain in Tacoma until about noon Wednesday. Dockside tours are available by donation today from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Merritt said. The Tall ships Tacoma organization reported progress on a variety of fronts. Organizers said they’ve raised $400,000 of the $640,000 they hoped to collect from sponsorships. State Farm Insurance is the presenting sponsor, and other sponsors include the Port of Tacoma and Totem Ocean Trailer Express. A membership drive is under way, with memberships ranging from $29 to $99. For more information, call 253-272-5650. And the organization recently installed 600 feet of dock donated from a Seattle marina. There are plans to install an additional 600 feet of donated dock. Jason Hagey: 253-597-8542 jason.hagey@thenewstribune.com New leader for Tall Ships
Tall Ships lands new captain C.R. ROBERTS; The News Tribune All hands appear to be on deck for Tacoma Tall Ships 2008. Since negotiations with a
Seattle event planning group failed last fall, the local organizing
board, Tacoma Tall Ships Organization, has hired an executive director
for next year’s gathering. Tacoma to host 2008 Tall
Ships Council lends support to Tall Ships event
Tacoma City Council is
willing to write a letter of support for Tall Ships 2008 but is not
making any commitments of funding or city services until more details on
organization of the event are settled. Tacoma Event Costs I'd like to second the Tribune's
editorial today: police costs shouldn't stall the 2008 Tall Ships event. If the police cost for Bumbershoot was less than $100,000, than it is hard to understand why Tacoma's costs for Tall Ships in 2005 were more than $400,000. A look at City of Tacoma
news for the week of Sept. 24, 2006 City Council members are scheduled Sept. 26 to hear a presentation from the Tall Ships 2008 organizing committee about the economic impact of Tall Ships 2005 and expectations for the event in 2008. The presentation will also include information about the American Sail Training Association, youth training, the international nature of the event as well as a briefing from the private sector about their role and a summary of the media coverage. Karrie Spitzer, Community Relations, City of Tacoma, (253) 591-5790 Tall Ships 2008? Heck, yes!
There was just a hint of "Yes, but -" when the Tacoma City Council responded this week to a request for its support of another Tall Ships festival in 2008. Tall Ships Return to Puget Sound in Tacoma Planning Under Way Tall Ships in 2008
The massive festival will be organized by a Seattle company called One Reel, who won out over Tacoma Events Commission. TEC produced the 2005 festival and won the "Port of the Year Award" from the American Sail Training Association for how well it went.
That's not too detailed, I must say, but we'll let that be for now. Here's what's interesting about the Tribune editorial. They argue:
But I don't know that this is right frame to look at the question. Tall Ships Tacoma 2008 Manager Selected
MHN Welcomes Tacoma Tall Ships Society Thursday, June 08, 2006 8:30 AM June 8, 2006 Tacoma Tall Ships 2008 Pierce County Tourism website Russia Roundtable / Tall Ships announcement
NOTICE OF CHANGE for RUSSIA ROUNDTABLE this quarter: ________________________________________________________
Greetings from the recently-formed TACOMA TALL SHIPS SOCIETY!
***********************************************************************
March 2006
7 March 2006 http://www.sailtraining.org/contribute/Member%20News/TacomaselectedasASTAs2005PortoftheYear.htm
KATHLEEN MERRYMAN; THE NEWS TRIBUNE
Last weekend, when ASTA Executive Director Peter
Mello gave the award to Tall Ships Festival chairwoman Clare Petrich, he put
it this way: “In a year of exceptional tall ship events that occurred all
down the West Coast of North America, Tacoma's generous spirit and warm
welcome contributed to an extraordinarily successful event.” |
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