Jul 13, 2009 7:33 am US/Eastern
Tall Ships Turnout Exceeds Expectations
BOSTON (WBZ) ―
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The Picton Castle, a tall ship from Nova Scotia, enters Boston Harbor under full sail last week.
WBZ
For an event that almost didn't happen, Sail Boston turned out to be a huge hit.
The Tall Ships drew nearly two-million people into the city, officials say.
That's three times what they expected.
45 vessels represented 17 countries in the Boston Harbor spectacular.
Visitors waited in long lines on Sunday to view the ships, and they reacted with admiration and awe.
"Just everything about them," said Katy Kennedy of North Reading.
"The ventures, the voyages. The history to them."
"Absolutely sensational. We are so happy," said Dusty Rhodes of Sail Boston.
"The turnout is enormous."
Flagship Adventures runs boat tours around the harbor.
The company brought in extra boats and staff on Sunday to handle the crush.
"After a long June, everyone has cabin fever, everyone has come out," said Andrew Savage of Flagship Adventures.
"It's beyond everyone's expectations."
This year's visit by the Tall Ships was dogged by controversy.
At one point, the event was in jeopardy because the city said it could not afford to pay for security.
So Sail Boston scaled back, canceling the popular parade of sail.
Without the parade, this year's turnout was well below the one in 2000, when some seven-and-a-half million people visited the city.
Chris Coon of Whitman brought his family to see the tall ships on Sunday.
He was sorry there was no parade, which he recalled watching nine years ago.
"We went down to Quincy to watch the boats come in," Coon remembered.
"And it spread out the crowd.""
"I think it would've been nice," Kennedy added.
"At least they're here, though. They're here, and that's what really great."
It was a once-in-a-decade chance to see some of the world's most majestic vessels.
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