As the tall ships race towards the Island, bringing thousands of trainees and crew and attracting thousands of visitors and international press, the Tall Ships 2000-Bermuda Ports Committee is moving into high gear to manage this fantastic and complex event.

After two years and thousands of hours of intense planning, the Ports Committee is highly organised with a flow chart of responsibilities worthy of a global corporation.

It is ready for action, with experts in key positions backed by a small army of some 500 volunteers .

"We are very happy that we have been able to attract a total of 70 tall ships, including 16 of the world's 20 existing tall ships, and found berths for 150 young Bermudians,'' said Brian Billings Chairman of the Tall Ships 2000-Bermuda.

"Most of these tall ships go to seven or eight ports in a year and they expect certain services,'' said Chief Liaison Officer Ralph Richardson.

"And the Bermuda Ports Committee intends to deliver them and to do it well.'' From pilotage, moorings and berths, victualling, medical services, languages, repairs, sanitation, communications, to duty desks, water taxies, and entertainment; everything has been thought out and assigned, right down to just who will deliver mail to what ship.

"Our biggest challenge has been to organise three different berthing locations,'' Mr. Richardson said.

"As the ships arrive, they will be assigned berths at the East and West End and then move to Hamilton Harbour on June 8 for the Tall Ships Festival on Front Street.'' The safe movement of numerous, large wind driven ships, some more than 300 feet long, into Hamilton Harbour is the responsibility of the Harbour (sub) Committee chairman and Marine and Ports director, Ron Ross.

"We normally have the cruise ships in at that time, so we will ask them to leave and bring in the tall ships,'' Mr. Ross said.

"They will be stacked along Front Street at No. one, five and six berths, two deep in some places. The smaller ships will be berthed at the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club, (RBYC), and the Hamilton Princess.

"It's mostly the large ships that will need assistance.'' An even more complex exercise will be getting the ships out into the Little Sound and the Great Sound.

They will be moving out with ponderous grace, escorted by hundreds of small spectator craft, for the start of the Parade of Sails on the Queen's Birthday, June 12.

"It's going to be a dynamic situation,'' Mr. Ross said.

"It depends on the weather and how fast each ship goes. A windy day will be quite different from a calm day - there's a lot of windage on those large square riggers.

"Everything will be moving, the ships, the thousands of spectators in commercial craft and private vessels.

"We will have pilots on the key boats to lead them out, branch pilots, even some pilots called out of retirement,''he said.

"The ships will feed into Dundonald and South Channel down the North Shore and through the narrows at Fort St. Catherine.

"The ships will pass closest to land at Spanish Point and Fort St. Catherine and those spots are good vantage points to see the ships.

"There won't be a spectacular start like there was in 1976, because the ships are cruising to different ports in the US. They are not racing, but there will be a smaller start for the Americans ships that will be racing to Charleston.'' The Chief Liaison Officer and his second in command, Mrs. Nancy Duperreault, traveled to the port of Albourg, Denmark last year to observe first hand the workings of a tall ship liaison team.

"I had no idea what I was getting into,'' Mr. Richardson said, laughing about the many hundreds of hours spent in planning meetings, organising a small army of 300 volunteer liaison officers.

"Our responsibility is to act as ambassadors for Bermuda on board a ship or at a duty desk,'' Mr. Richardson said.

"Duty desks will be established at the Number One Shed, at the RBYC and the Hamilton Princess and effectively wherever four ships or more ships are berthed.

"Our liaison officers will spend eight to 12 hours on board,'' Mr. Richardson said.

"They are there to help the captains and his officers with local information on repairs, transportation, laundry facilities, scheduled entertainment and places to get fuel. Anything they need.'' The liaison officers, or L.O.'s, will wear a uniform that is highly recognisable and carry cell phones.

They have been to several training sessions and been provided with a handbook of L.O. procedures and chain of command.

If one of the trainees has a family emergency and needs to fly out of the island, the liaison officer is there to help the captain make arrangements.

The Tall Ships 2000-Bermuda Port Committee has succeeded in attracting 35 tall ships to Bermuda from all over the world and found berths for 150 Bermudian trainees. It will be responsible for providing port services to 35 tall ships in the East and West End and Hamilton Harbour, local liaison services for each ship, and entertainment for the 1500 young trainees from many nations and thousands of visitors expected for the big event. Key personnel left to right: Carol Wills, Event Coordinator, Ralph Richardson Chief Liaison Officer, Jacqueline Horsfield, Social Committee Chairman, Ron Ross Director of Marine and Ports and Brian Billings, Chairman.