Thursday, July 06, 2006

Tall Ships: Terrific success ... and unbelievable disaster

Depending on who you talk to, the 2006 Pepsi Americas Sail (aka, "Tall Ships") held last weekend in Beaufort/Morehead City/the Crystal Coast, was either a sight to behold or an unmistakable disaster. We've heard of numerous tales of people waiting on buses for several hours (to only go a couple of miles), then waiting in the searing heat to stand in line for a few more hours ... only to be turned away without having seen a single boat.

And these were folks WITH tickets.

The Raleigh News & Observer, in an article title, "Sailing fest crowds leave some landlubbers bitter," stated that "some disgruntled visitors said events were overbooked, resulting in long waits and canceled tours. Rufus Swain of Wilson said Wednesday that his family spent $120 on tickets for two ship tours Saturday that they weren't able to take because of the crowds. Swain, 79, said many people had to wait for shuttle rides in withering heat. 'It's frustrating,' he said. 'I feel for all the people who were around us.'

The article goes on to say that an estimated 160,000 people attended the Pepsi Americas' Sail 2006 between Friday and Tuesday, said Don Holloway, the festival's executive director.

"All in all, we think it was a great success," he told the paper. Holloway went on to say that 34,000 tickets were sold for events, including the tours of some tall ships. He said the festival's shuttle service carried 200,000 riders.

The Independent Weekly out of Durham called the event's glitches a "fiasco" in a July 5, 2006 headline, even going as far as to say that the "good people of Beaufort" have once again "survived occupation by privateers."

"They took with them untold booty," the article says, "but a simple run of math tells you that ticket sales at least were well over $1 million -- 40,000 at roughly $30 a pop. That would be great if every one of those 40,000 ticket holders, lured by a made-for-TV romantic image of tall ships sailing into a hisoric seaport, got what they paid for."

Still, the folks associated with the event and with promoting the Crystal Coast were encouraged by the turnout and the response. In fact, according to the Jacksonville Daily News, officials think the tall ships will one day -- hopefully sooner rather than later -- return.

"One of the goals of Americas’ Sail was to make Beaufort and Carteret County a regular stop for tall ships from around the world," said the article.

"The North Carolina Maritime Museum has invited a number of tall ship visits in the past and will continue to do so. It’s hoped that more will come now that Beaufort is well known. ...

" 'I think the tall ships will be a regular occurrence here,' said North Carolina Maritime Museum director David Nateman."

Perhaps. But hopefully everyone who buys tickets will actually be allowed to use them next time.

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