Tall Ships Festival Sails Into Tacoma
Sail World Cruising - SeaBreeze.com - June 15, 2008

Keisei	Nina	Bounty

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:

The Niña, the most historically accurate replica of Christopher Columbus’ 1492 ship that he sailed across the Atlantic. Climb aboard and look westward, the New World calls! 

The HMS Bounty, built in 1960 for the movie "Mutiny on the Bounty" with Marlon Brando. This ship took center stage in the famous story of Captain Bligh and his mutinous crew. The spirit of Lieutenant Fletcher Christian awaits! 

The USCG Eagle. This Coast Guard Cutter is the official training vessel for the U.S. Coast Guard and is the only active-duty sailing vessel in the U.S. military. The Eagle has not been on the West Coast in more than a decade. Don’t miss your chance to see this fascinating part of our nation’s history. 

Kaisei. Since her launch in 1990, this Class A vessel has sailed more than 40,000 miles with a crew of thousands from 25 countries. She is operated by the Ocean Voyages Institute to teach about maritime arts and sciences and about preserving the oceans. 

And of course, Lady Washington will attend. Lady Washington is the official tall ship of the State of Washington. 

The 2008 festival begins July 3 with the Parade of Sail. This amazing sight begins in nearby Vashon Island when the ships unfurl their sails and head to Tacoma. 

Thousands of smaller boats, kayaks, canoes and yachts will greet the ships and escort them into the waterway where they will dock for four days of tours and excursions. 

This is the second time Tacoma has hosted this prestigious international maritime event. During the festival a two-mile stretch of the Thea Foss Waterway in downtown Tacoma will be transformed into three themed villages and filled with a variety of food, entertainment, merchandise, arts and crafts, and children’s activities. There is something for everyone! 

"The excitement and outpouring of community support for the 2005 festival made us realize that Tacoma is the perfect host for this event," said Joe Jadwin, president of the Tacoma Tall Ships®

 Organization.~Sail-World Cruising

Tall Ships Tacoma: Organizers hard at work for July festival
Scott Fontaine - The News Tribune - March 6, 2008

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?
Kathleen Merryman - The News Tribune - November 12, 2007

Let’s start with the requisite disclosure, the admission of bias: I’m a sucker for Tall Ships. Sailing from Victoria, B.C., to Tacoma aboard The Lynx in 2005’s Tall Ships Challenge only made it worse. 
That’s why I’m advising every kid 14 through 17 years old who reads this to embark right now on a rapid wheedling campaign to get aboard a tall ship next summer.

Fifty kids (and 10 chaperones) will have that chance, thanks to a new addition to the festival: Youth on Board – The Journey of a Lifetime.

Festival organizers aren’t exaggerating with that “journey of a lifetime” bit.

These young people will help sail tall ships on the three-day journey from Victoria to Tacoma next summer. They’ll learn the rigging, jump to the commands, possibly even engage in a mock cannon battle.

Tacoma Port Commissioner Clare Petrich, one of the 2005 event’s prime organizers, came up with the idea after she sailed aboard the R. Tucker Thompson. The rest of the organizing team, including Lori Crace of Metro Parks, loved the idea, and has been lining up sponsors and ships.

“We know there will be four ships,” said Taryn Todd, who works with Tacoma’s Sea Scouts and volunteers with the festival. “They will be the size of The Adventuress or Lady Washington, in the 100- to 120-foot range.”

Young people will train in May, learning the basics of seamanship at Tacoma’s Youth Marine Center aboard the Sea Scouts’ former Coast Guard cutter, the Charles N. Curtis, and possibly the Odyssey.

“They’ll get a feel for where they’ll sleep and how much space they’ll have,” Todd said.

Hint: Not much.

“They’ll get a little feel for steering a boat, a little training ahead of time,” Todd said. “In addition, we would like them to participate in fundraising events.”

That brings us to the issue of cost.

This adventure comes with a price tag of $750.

Now, there are young people who have that much invested in their computer gaming systems. And there are young people for whom that sum would seem prohibitive.

It should not, Todd said. Youth on Board is raising scholarships funds now, and young people will continue to help with that.

“We want to make sure that this is an all-encompassing group of youth,” Todd said. “We want kids from Hilltop, kids from Bellarmine, kids who have never been on a boat, kids who grew up on boats. Our goal is to have full and partial scholarships available.”

Todd suspects the price, and possibly the teen ability to procrastinate, are factors in the surprisingly low number of applications submitted so far: fewer than 20 for the 50 spots. The deadline is Dec. 1, and the application is available online at www.tallships tacoma.com/youth_on_board.

On that site, kids will see that they’ll travel to Victoria, which hosts the Tall Ships Festival at the end of June.

On June 29, they’ll board their ships, meet the crew, learn safety procedures and spend the night in their bunks. 

On June 30, they’ll set sail for Port Angeles.

They’ll be racing other ships in their class. Those tactical dashes from port to port are part of the Tall Ships Challenge, and a thrilling window into the era when wind, tide and the set of the sails made fortunes in trade and ordained the outcome of battles.

They’ll sail next to Port Madison, and from there, they’ll parade past Seattle to Dockton, where they’ll enjoy the company of Vashon Island’s residents and boaters.

On the morning of July 3, they will join the Parade of Sail into Commencement Bay. To be part of a procession of so many fine ships, and to be greeted by thousands of boaters and shoreline crowds is a thrill of lifetime proportions. 

Kids, start your wheedling. Your families will never regret giving in to you on this.

Big coup for Tall Ships festival
Jason Hagey - The News Tribune - September 8, 2007

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

Jason Hagey - The News Tribune - August 28, 2007

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
John Larson - Tacoma Weekly - January 11, 2007

Tacoma Tall Ships Organization (TTSO) has hired an executive director for the 2008 visit of the grand vessels to Tacoma, and is currently examining what role any outside promoter will have in the event. 

David Doxtater was recently selected as executive director. The Bainbridge Island resident once worked for One Reel Productions, the Seattle promoter known for staging the popular Bumbershoot music and arts event each Labor Day weekend at Seattle Center. 

He left One Reel in 1997 and founded The Workshop, which has worked on Seattle events such as Summer Nights at the Pier and Fremont Fair. 

Doxtater was part of the selection committee that chose One Reel last year to submit a proposal to produce Tall Ships Tacoma 2008. 

TTSO Board President Joe Jadwin noted that One Reel was chosen after it responded to a request for proposals issued through Foss Waterway Development Authority. After negotiations began, One Reel told TTSO it should have someone in a project manager role. TTSO asked Doxtater to offer some recommendations, and eventually decided to hire him for the position. “It became clear that his information was invaluable,” Jadwin remarked. 

While in negotiations with One Reel, TTSO was also in discussions with American Sail Training Association (ASTA), the organizing body for Tall Ships events. 

Jadwin said the formation of TTSO and its payment of the fee gave it ownership of the event. “This put One Reel in a position where they felt they couldn’t have full control,” he said. “We weren’t willing to give that up. We wanted to keep it a Tacoma event.” 

This created a stalemate, resulting in One Reel dropping out of the picture. 

Doxtater might bring in an outside production company. “But I don’t know to what level,” he said. 

Doxtater said the biggest advantage for the 2008 event over 2005 “is the fact it has happened before. We know how all the elements come together.” He feels having veterans of 2005 on board and a large base of volunteers will make it easier to land sponsorships. 

Jadwin said prospective sponsors will most likely be from the Tacoma area, but he would not rule out the possibility of some national sponsors. 

Jadwin said there have been discussions with another entity to handle some of the production work and land sponsors. He said he does not foresee Tacoma Events Commission (TEC), which staged the 2005 event, having any role. He said TTSO would have to work with TEC since it stages the annual Freedom Fair on July 4, a date the ships will be in town. Their close geographic proximity will require both groups to coordinate on mass transportation, public services and other factors, Jadwin said. 

An invitation-only event will take place Jan. 25 to introduce Doxtater to civic leaders. 

Joe Jadwin became board president last August. The board meets every two weeks and an advisory committee also meets on a regular basis. 

Jadwin supervises the repair department of Digital Control Inc., a manufacturer in Kent. His employer provided an in-kind sponsorship for his services in 2005, when he was Tall Ships logistics coordinator.

Tall Ships lands new captain

C.R. ROBERTS; The News Tribune
January 10th, 2007

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. 

David Doxtater, the organization’s newly appointed executive director, said this week that he will reveal early plans for the event and the final date at an invitation-only gathering of civic officials and prospective sponsors on Jan. 25.

“The first real challenge is to be realistic about the size and scope of the event and try to figure out a fundraising strategy,” he said. “We will have a budget by the end of February. I think the local approach is the first priority. We do not plan to exclude any local people. Tacoma Tall Ships is all about Tacoma.”

The Tall Ships celebration first came to Tacoma in 2005, attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors to the Thea Foss Waterway. Those visitors visited dozens of vessels, including high-masted sailing ships berthed along waterway piers.

The gathering offered entertainment and some educational programs, as well as long lines and a bill from Tacoma police that remains in negotiations.

The Tacoma Tall Ships Organization comprises several of the volunteers from the 2005 committee. Joe Jadwin, the group’s president, was ships logistics coordinator two years ago, while Clare Petrich, owner of Petrich Marine and a Port of Tacoma commissioner, and Tom Cashman, executive director of Foss Waterway Seaport, volunteered in 2005 and will serve as co-chairs on the 2008 committee. Other members of the 2008 group include Stan Selden, David Britton, Tom Pagano, Don Patterson, Sam Wagner and Evette Mason.

“As the group evolved, we determined that we wanted to be a part of the event,” Jadwin said this week. “We didn’t want to be left out.”

Organizers last year issued a request for qualifications from event planners, and a selection committee invited the Seattle firm One Reel Productions to submit a detailed proposal. 

The negotiations eventually failed.

“We took our time in doing research for the event, a full budget analysis,” said One Reel producer Heather Smith. “Without ownership of the event, and with the risk, it didn’t make a lot of sense to do it. At the end of the day, we never would have had naming rights.”

There would have been, she said, “a lot of things that we didn’t think we’d have control of.”

“The lack of control made it too risky for them,” said Don Meyer, head of the Foss Waterway Development Authority. “We in Tacoma said, ‘Hey, we want to make certain we have ownership of this event.’ It didn’t fit into their long-term business plans.”

Doxtater had worked on the selection committee that chose One Reel, and once worked for the company organizing events including Bumbershoot and Northwest Folklife Festival. He left One Reel in 1997 after the birth of his first son, Otis.

“David came to us through a recommendation from people in the event production business,” Meyer said.

“We realized he was a consummate professional,” Jadwin said. “Not only does he have event experience, he also understands the passion.”

At The Workshop, the company he founded after leaving One Reel, Doxtater has worked on such Seattle events as the opening of Benaroya and McCaw halls, the Ivar’s Fourth of July fireworks show, the Fremont Fair, and Summer Nights at the Pier. As well as organizing and creating corporate events, he has also been hired to guide the celebration for the opening of the third Narrows bridge.

A native of Canada, a member of the Oneida Iroquois and a graduate of The Evergreen State College, Doxtater said his first love is the homegrown festival.

“I’m sort of a folkie at heart,” he said.

Along with developing a budget and recruiting sponsors for Tall Ships 2008, Doxtater said he plans to integrate “a stronger educational element” into the event.

“I’m pretty excited to be doing this,” he said. “To me, Tacoma is capable of Tall Ships. Seattle is not. I feel that there’s this strength of character in Tacoma – that I’m liking.”

Tacoma to host 2008 Tall Ships
Business Examiner
11/15/2006

American Sail Training Association and the Tacoma Tall Ships Organization have announced the 2008 Tall Ships Challenge Race Series will stop in Tacoma. The dates have been set for July 2 to 7, 2008. This will be the second time Tacoma has hosted the event.

The 2005 Pacific Coast Challenge was a success, with 3 million people viewing more than 40 international vessels during the transoceanic race. That summer, 30 ships participated in the Tacoma Tall Ships Festival and brought in 800,000 people to the city. Local event organizers are hoping to continue this success by bringing in Seattle-based promoter One Reel Productions, a non-profit arts and events production organization to coordinate the festivities.

Many of the ships that participate in the race are sail training vessels with trainees living and working on board. Through these maritime events, visitors are able to tour the vessels and see how these ships are used in the 21st century. Since these are educational vessels, activities in each host city will introduce the public to the history of the tall ships, as well as their role in the preservation of the coastal waters of the Pacific. Waterfront events range from friendly competition between crews to concerts, parades and fireworks. The public will also have a chance to try out their sea legs by joining the trainee crew during a racing leg of the series.

Council lends support to Tall Ships event
John Larson - Tacoma Weekly - September 28th, 2006

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.

Several people involved with the event gave a presentation to Tacoma City Council Sept. 26.

Tacoma Tall Ships Organization, a new nonprofit, has been formed to plan the event, which is scheduled for July 2-6, 2008. Stan Selden is co-chair.

The promoter selected to stage the event is One Reel Productions of Seattle. No formal contract has been drawn up, in part because One Reel wants more information on the cost for police services.

Heather Smith, events coordinator for One Reel, told the council her organization is “delighted to have a role” in the 2008 festival. 

Kathleen Deakins, vice president of Jay Ray Communications, discussed media coverage of the 2005 event. “Let’s make sure we have this story to tell again in 2008,” she told council members. 

Selden said the letter of support would be sent to owners of ships invited to participate, as well as the organization that oversees Tall Ships events around the nation. 

Councilmember Julie Anderson said the 2005 event “was an astonishing success,” and that the city wants it to return. She said it sparked discussion on how to organize large festivals, and the city’s role in them. She thanked the organizers for getting the matter in front of the council early. 

Ruthie Reinert, executive director of Tacoma Regional Convention and Visitors Bureau, said this advance planning will allow more time to notify tour operators of the event, which would assist in booking hotel rooms in the area. 

Deakins said the success in 2005 will make it easier to market the 2008 festival to tourists and national media. 

Tacoma Events Commission, which organized the 2005 Tall Ships event, still owes the city money for police costs. Councilmember Connie Ladenburg said police “were stretched quite thin” last year, and inquired what is being done to address this for 2008.

Selden said organizers met with Tacoma Police Department (TPD) officials Sept. 25. At this time there is no cost estimate for 2008.

In 2005, the Coast Guard and Department of Homeland Security did not do enough in advance to let TPD and organizers know what the federal government expected in regards to security precautions, according to Selden.

“We expect that hurdle to be much, much simpler this time,” Selden remarked.

Tacoma Event Costs
Friday, September 15, 2006
Erik Hanberg, Tacoma, Washington

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.

I think it's worth pointing out that perhaps there is a bigger issue than just the Tall Ships event. Could Tacoma have a budget of, say, a million, to pay for police costs and city services that would allow regular civic-minded, quality-of-life- enhancing events? Sure, a lot of it might go to Freedom Fair or Tall Ships, but maybe the annual Tree Lighting ceremony, or First Night, or Art on the Ave, or other events that need to close streets could have a better chance of making it work. Instead of raising money to pay the City for these services, the City would do better, I feel to have them apply for a piece of the $1,000,000 pie available.

Maybe Tacoma would fund 100% of the police costs for Art on the Ave and 60% for Tall Ships and 80% for Freedom Fair ... based on whatever the metric turned out to be. But it seems like these events do so much for not only bringing tourists to Tacoma but for bringing Tacoma itself out and about that it would be worth the cost.

Thus concludes my rant on my newest soapbox.

A look at City of Tacoma news for the week of Sept. 24, 2006

Tall Ships anchors study session agenda

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!
September 28, 2006
(McClatchy-Tribune Business News delivered by Newstex) --

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.

The event's organizers had asked for a letter endorsing a repeat of last year's festival, and the council gladly provided that at its Tuesday study session. But council members made it clear they weren't committing themselves to providing any specific services. As Connie Ladenburg said, "I think it depends on what kind of help" the organizers might eventually ask for.

Of course the council can't issue a blank check or promise the moon to Tall Ships 2008. There is some reason for wariness, given the continuing argument between the city and the Tacoma Events Commission -- which organized the 2005 festival -- over $66,000 in police costs that remain in dispute.

But the fundamental question here is, "Does the City of Tacoma favor a reprise of Tall Ships three years from now?" And the council's basic response ought to be, "Heck, yes -- and we'll do what it takes to make it happen!"

The 2005 festival did have glitches one might expect in a large, complex event being staged in Tacoma for the very first time. But the biggest problem -- the enormous security costs -- was an issue chiefly because Tall Ships was such a triumph. Hundreds of thousands of people came to the Tacoma waterfront that Fourth of July weekend to join the party and see the flotilla of majestic sailing vessels, forcing the Tacoma Police Department to expand its presence and run up high overtime costs.

The resulting bill was a byproduct of one of the most remarkable successes the South Sound has ever seen. Legions of visitors saw Tacoma in a positive new light and spent more than $2 million in the area in the bargain.

Tall Ships 2008 looks to be a repeat of that spectacular success -- with the glitches worked out beforehand. It will be run by One Reel, an organization with more than 20 years experience throwing big public parties, including the annual Bumbershoot music festival in Seattle. It has already begun meeting with the Tacoma Police Department to talk about how security can best be provided in a cost-effective way.

Put it this way: If the City of Tacoma itself had been saddled with all the unanticipated costs of security last year, Tall Ships would still have been a glorious bonanza of fun, tourist dollars and good publicity for the city. The 2008 version is bound to be even better. For heaven's sake, let's keep the wind blowing hard in its sails.

Tall Ships Return to Puget Sound in Tacoma
Seattle.About
August 24, 2006

The Lady of Washington returned to Puget Sound on Wednesday (August 23rd, 2006) to the Working Waterfront Maritime Museum at 705 Dock Street in Tacoma. Many of you might recognize it as the HMS Interceptor from Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.

The tall ship will be moored at the Dock Street location and open for free tours from 10am to 5pm on Thursday and Friday, and 10am to 1pm on Saturday and Sunday. As part of the visit, the 67-foot replica of a Revolutionary War brig will stage a battle with the Amazing Grace, a 62-foot gaff topsail schooner from Gig Harbor.

These are just two of the 30 tall ships that were part of the Tacoma Tall Ships Festival 2005. The Foss Waterway Development Authority and the City of Tacoma are working to bring the festival back in 2008 due to the success of the 2005 event which brought nearly 1 million visitors and generated over $1 million in television and print coverage for the community.

Planning Under Way
Tacoma Regional Convention Bureau
July, 2006

Tacoma Tall Ships® 2008 is underway. A strong and committed planning committee has formed. The co –chairs are Stan Selden, Clare Petrich with members; Don Meyer, Denise Dyer, Ruthie Reinert, Chuck Fowler, David Britton, Evette Mason, Joe Guizzetti, Gwendolyn Voelpel, Lori Crace, Don Patterson, Joe Jadwin and Tom Cashman. 

The purpose of Tall Ships Event is to :

· Provide opportunities for the public to visit Foss Waterway
· Attract visitors to Tacoma and foster economic growth
· Showcase Tacoma’s rich maritime history and our expanding global presence
· Provide a community celebration featuring historic, cultural and educational opportunities
· Provide educational and character building opportunities for youth across many cultures
· Retain sufficient net revenues to establish a contingency fund to foster the presentation of future events with similar purpose

Under the auspices of Foss Waterway Development Authority a Request for Proposal was conducted and One Reel has been selected as event manager. They will be responsible for organizing all aspects for the event, both land and waterside. Once on board they will begin the sponsorship, fund raising, recruitment of ships, marketing, media relations and community relations, as well as logistic and operational aspects of the event. There is a lot to do and the Planning committee will be working hard with the Event Manager to have everything ready for June 30 – July 5, 2008.

We all know first hand or by word of mouth the tremendous success of Tall Ships Tacoma 2005. The planning committee is building on that success and is committed to making Tacoma Tall Ships 2008 a well managed event with even more opportunities for visitors and thus an even bigger success. 

Tall Ships in 2008
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
Erik Hanberg, Tacoma, Washington

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.

So here's the question, why did the TEC lose? Clearly there were behind-the-scenes problems, though it's hard to find any discussion of those in print. The recent Trib opinion piece simply says:

7 March 2006 

"...In other matters, looks like 2008 will be interesting for the ASTA Challenge on the west coast, with discussions centering on the 1st host port being in Alaska! Port Alberni, Victoria, Tacoma, Westport, San Fran-Oakland, Oxnard and San Pedro also placing their names in the mix.

ALASKA, interesting. Plans are for June 2008."

Enough for now. Fair winds, tk (Thad Koza)

http://www.sailtraining.org/contribute/Member%20News/TacomaselectedasASTAs2005PortoftheYear.htm

KATHLEEN MERRYMAN; THE NEWS TRIBUNE 
Published: November 9th, 2005 

Kathleen Merryman: 253-597-8677 

kathleen.merryman@thenewstribune.com 

You did it. You won 2005 Tall Ship Port of the Year honors for Tacoma.

If you volunteered, cheered, bought a pass or a T-shirt, sent a smile to a sailor or a gift to a ship, did laundry or interpreting for a crew, you helped earn Tacoma the highest honor the American Sail Training Association gives to Tall Ships® hosts.

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.” 

Tacoma bested Victoria, Vancouver and Port Alberni, B.C., Los Angeles, San Diego and Oxnard and the Channel Islands in California. Not bad competition.

Tacoma's organizers aimed for the honor from the start, said Chuck Fowler, an ASTA advisory board member and Tacoma volunteer. Port of the Year is an honor and an edge in getting the Tall Ships here again.

Seattle will press to get the ships to Lake Union in 2008, said Les Bolton, executive director of the Grays Harbor Historical Seaport, which owns The Lady Washington and The Bill of Rights. Bolton's heard the buzz of big money trying to get the ships to the lake's south shore.

If that's the case, and if Tacoma goes for the festival, this year's honor will be a factor.

“If Tacoma wanted to do it again, it would take a lot,” said Bolton, an ASTA board member. “Tacoma would have to commit to it and say ‘Yes, we are going to do it,' and speak with one voice. But I think the proven track record is valuable. You don't get Port of the Year because you are a slouch. You get it because you did an excellent job.” 

You can check The Bill of Rights' hull for evidence. When the ship's bow anchor came loose and chewed into the hull, Bolton called Petrich for help. In three minutes – he timed it – she called him back with the number of a top-quality shipwright.

“He said ‘I have a boat. I'll be over in 10 minutes,' ” Bolton said. “These guys worked through the night so we could be ready.”

The Tall Ships team put together a mooring plan that worked for the ships, and got as many people as possible from the huge festival crowds onto them, Bolton said.

It also gathered an astonishing army of volunteers, Petrich said. Those South Sounders rallied beyond their training, giving more than anyone expected, and all for free, she said.

Those volunteers organized outings for young trainees aboard ships like Pacific Grace, Cuauhtemoc and Pallada. They acted as personal liaisons for each ship, dealing with everything from laundry to provisioning to getting crew members to the Internet. 

“Liaisons are the most important when in port,” said Jeffrey Woods of The Lynx in California. “Tacoma was right there for all our needs.” 

Tacoma was right there for the welcome, too. Bolton said his crews had never seen crowds comparable to the tens of thousands who turned out for the Parade of Sail.

“The entire city's enthusiasm for the Tall Ships Festival was contagious,” e-mailed Betsy Bryan, owner of S.V. Talofa. Talofa, by the way, is ASTA Ship of the Year.

“We were showered with gifts, words of praise, volunteers who helped make our job of carrying over 250 passengers throughout the festival a pleasant experience. We never again had the security measures in the other ports and understand the importance of this after being hit by a novice sailor on the San Francisco Bay some weeks later,” Bryan wrote.

And Talofa's Kiwis will never get over the random kindness of ordinary Tacomans. Joe and Linda Jadwin and their family adopted the boat and were, as Bryan said, “phenomenal hosts.”

You, Tacoma, shone. Take a bow. And pat yourself on the stern.