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.

For information, see www.tallshipstacoma.com.