Opinion: Poorly organized tall ships festival came up short

I couldn't agree more on the story about the disappointment I experienced at the tall ships festival. What I don't understand is the disorganization of this event, and the lack of knowledge of the people running it.

I think it is wonderful that St. Petersburg got the opportunity to have these ships docked at our port. But nowhere in the advertisements or articles did it state that the ticket price was $20 to get onto the ships, and then it was a three-hour wait, once you got another ticket, to get onto the ship. When we purchased tickets, the person at the window couldn't answer anything about the events going on inside. Had we been informed, we would not have spent $20 to wait in sweltering heat for three hours to get on one ship. Had we wanted to get on two ships, it could have been a six-hour wait, with nowhere to sit.

While I understand that there is going to be a wait with such a spectacular event, the organization could have been a whole lot better. In future events such as this, I recommend that the workers be well informed. When selling the tickets, provide the customer the "other ticket" stating what time frame they would be allowed on the ship. That way, they could avoid heat exhaustion while sitting on a sidewalk waiting.

Unfortunately, I took two pictures, walked around, and never got on a ship. All for the $40 my boyfriend and I paid. I do hope at least the money goes to a good cause.
-- Jennifer Honegger, Treasure Island

Festival was represented inaccurately

After reading your June 27 "Get Away" section of the paper I set up a family trip to the tall ships in St. Petersburg. I had anticipated spending $20 for myself, my husband and two kids, which was general admission. The U.S. Coast Guard ship Eagle was advertised as free to the public with purchase of a general admission ticket. That is not what I ended up with on Sunday morning.

First of all, the paper made no mention that the parking lot shown had a fee of $15. That is outrageous! The plan of getting on the U.S. Coast Guard ship Eagle was sunk when, after purchasing general admission tickets, a sign was posted at the ticket booth which said that there were no tours of the ship on Sunday. This was not mentioned in the St. Petersburg Times or any news broadcast I heard prior to the event. So, because I promised my kids they would get on a big ship, I ended up going back, waiting in line again and spending $45 for a family pass. After getting into the event we discovered that only the Cisne Branco was allowing people on board. The paper clearly reads: $20 ticket includes tours of the ships. Again, this appears to be a misrepresentation, because none of the other ships were letting people aboard.

So, we got a visit on one ship for $45.

I feel the event was not represented accurately in the paper. We feel sorry that the city and the sponsors of the event were more concerned in generating money than providing a quality event.
-- Ruth Stoop, Largo

Organizers withheld the facts

Re: Bitter end for those who don't fit aboard, June 30.

So the organizers considered the Americas' Sail 2002 festival a huge success? I would agree if festival chairman Don Shea was actually commenting on his ability to keep quiet the fact the Coast Guard training vessel was due to leave at 10 a.m. Sunday. I am impressed that this fact largely remained a secret throughout the wide media coverage even though it was common knowledge within the vendors' circle, as I later learned. At least I got to see the ship; I am an early bird. But if this had been reported, would the attendance on Sunday been as successful? I think not.

Keeping in mind that this was a first-time event, a trial run so to speak, it was not bad. I was mildly disappointed with the collection of boats, but I was aware of what would be on display and went anyway. One can hope the lack of communication, direction and information will be much improved next time.

But folks, please inform your patrons of all the facts so that they can make educated choices. Withholding the facts is the same as lying, and we don't like to be lied to. Mr. Shea, you say there is a strong interest in tall ships. I agree. Now let's figure out how to keep that interest.
-- Mary Ann Stearns, St. Petersburg

An inconvenient, expensive event

We went to see the tall ships on Friday and were very disappointed, overall, with the experience. First was the $10 fee required for parking at Tropicana Field -- $10 is outrageous. The shuttle buses were good and comfortable, but, in many cases, left people standing at the stops because they were full. And what was with the narrow gangplank entrance to the area where the Eagle was berthed? It was far too narrow and was choked with people both when we entered and left the area.

We stood in line for over an hour to get onto the Eagle. The cooling fans were appreciated. However, there were quite a number of older people in line. Benches would have been very useful, given the length of the wait and the heat. We saw a couple of people being attended to for overheating. More seating, with shade, would have been very useful in many areas.

Another dumb idea was the need to purchase tickets for food and drinks. You didn't want to overbuy tickets, which generally resulted in not having enough for the purchase and having to get out of line and go back and get more tickets. Then, when we had too many at the time we were ready to leave, we were stuck with them. This system was inconvenient and expensive.

We will not be going to any such event in St. Petersburg again anytime soon.
-- Bill Balmer, Belleair Bluffs

Tall ships, long lines, lots of money

Well, the organizers of the tall ships festival in St. Petersburg must be new to the job. The entire experience has left me with no desire to return for another event. We followed the signs to park at Tropicana Field, where we waited an hour for the shuttle bus. Then we stood in another line for tickets and paid extra for the ability to actually board the vessels. After standing in line for most of our visit, we found that it would be over two hours wait to get on the larger vessels. Then, since it was so hot, we approached the refreshment stand, where a very rude man said, "No cash, you need tickets."

You guessed it, another long line. We decided to leave, and on the way out, passed our wrist bands to someone who was waiting in line. The shuttle ride back to the parking lot was with a bus full of people who also decided to leave rather than wait in line. Many very unhappy visitors.

Let's see: $8 in tolls, $10 parking, $45 admission, $18 food tickets, and gas, for the pleasure of seeing the vessels over the heads of all the people in line. Thanks, but no thanks.
-- Bill Hagen, Brooksville

Education problems not new to Florida

I have read with interest and amusement the letters and articles blaming Gov. Jeb Bush for problems with education, schools and learning.

Thirty-three years ago, we visited Florida and seriously considered moving here. We subscribed to the local papers to read about the area -- both the East and West coasts. We had five school-age children, and after reading about overcrowded classrooms, possible half-sessions and portable classrooms, we did not make the move.

Who ignored these problems for 31 years before Jeb Bush?
-- Betty Mundy, Gulfport

Don't overlook parental responsibility

Re: Class size amendment carries hefty price tag, June 28.

$27.5-billion! All those billions just to have smaller class sizes! This will, of course, cause a huge rise in property taxes, which many seniors and other citizens on fixed incomes certainly cannot afford.

This idea of smaller class sizes is not a panacea for the problems with our schools. Rather than raise billions of dollars in taxes, perhaps mandated parental participation and much stricter discipline should be tried!

It is totally unbelievable that the St. Petersburg Times could state that three-fourths, or 75 percent, of the citizens of Pinellas County want their taxes raised to provide smaller classes.

My children did very well in the Pinellas County school system (quite a few years ago) in much larger classes, on split sessions, usually in portables and with no air conditioning!

P.S. At one time, the schools also had a dress code and, for discipline problems, a paddle.
-- B.A. Whalen, Dunedin

Helping children is the reward

Re: Tax vouchers' quick start need not halt our scrutiny, by Howard Troxler, July 1.

I read with interest Howard Troxler's column expressing his concern about the Corporate Tax Credit Scholarship program, which helps lower income children attend the school of their parent's choice.

He is worried that no one is "watchdogging" this program. The scholarship organizations must be IRS approved, DOE approved, audited annually and can't use the tax credit money for administrative costs. He shouldn't worry -- there's no reward in this other than helping children.

I have a question for him: Who is watchdogging the public school system? The Miami Herald reported last week that the Dade County School District spends $4.1-billion on 355,000 students. I'm not good at math, but that's more than $11,000 per student. Good teachers don't get their fair share of that money. Less than 50 percent of the kids graduate from the system. Where is the accountability in that system?

Lower income parents will be the watchdogs of the scholarship money they direct to schools, and they will give it only to schools that spend money on good teachers and not on $75,000-a-year union janitors. For the first time lower-income parents have real power -- and you will be pleased to know that the average household income of our scholarship recipients to date is under $20,000 per year.

Mr. Troxler forgot to mention that the program will increase per pupil spending in the public schools. This is because kids have to be in public schools to use the scholarship at a private school, and the scholarships are for a fraction of the per pupil spending in the public schools. An analysis done by the nonpartisan Collins Center showed that the program will save Florida taxpayers more than $600-million over the next 10 years or immediately increase annual per pupil spending in the public schools by more than $20 per child.

Another thing he forgot to mention: The scholarships are helping relieve public school overcrowding, and the taxpayers don't have to pay for extra space.

I'm glad to see that we're no longer hearing predictions of disaster for the public school system if some lower income children are offered an alternative. Mr. Troxler is now just worried that these nonprofit scholarship funds will steal the money they raise. I think we're making real progress here!
-- John F. Kirtley, chairman, Florida PRIDE (Parents Rights In Deciding Education), Tampa Florida PRIDE is one of the state approved scholarship funds.

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