Apparently the folks on the HMS Bounty liked our poster of the ship sailing in front of Stadium High School.

It's taped to a cabinet below deck:

Name: Kathy Lepp

Age: 44

Place of residence: Tacoma

Job duties: “I’m volunteering in the media center. I answer questions, escort media members on the ships and write press releases. I wanted something completely opposite of crunching numbers” at her day job at Russell Investments.

Favorite experience: “It’s the people, hands down. The people have been wonderful.”

As a ship liaison, Mickie Hucke has one job title but many responsibilities.

During her shift Saturday morning, the Edgewood resident tracked attendance on the HMS Bounty with an electric counter. She encouraged Tacoma Tall Ships 2008 visitors to get excited about boarding the full-rigged ship. And she was on call if the crew needs anything.

“That can be anything from taking garbage off, finding places to do laundry, arranging transportation in town, finding marine supply shops – basically anything they need,” said Hucke. “The idea is to make it flow smooth. We want to make this fun for the crew and the visitors.”

About 500 volunteers are working the festival as liaisons, organizers said, and each ship has several people assigned to it each shift. (The number of liaisons varies by the size of the ship.) The volunteers begin arriving at 6 a.m. – four hours before the festival opens – and helps take care of whatever the crew needs done for the day. On Saturday, that meant helping arrange transportation for a day trip to Mount Rainier.

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I'm being told the credit card system in the ticket windows is back online. Also the wait for the big ships is down to about an hour.

Name: Philip Close

Age: 15

Place of residence: University Place

Job duties: “I’m in line management. I make sure people don’t get too rowdy while waiting in line for the Class A ships.”

Favorite experience: “The food. There’s a crepes stand that is just awesome.”

Name: Bob Arenburg

Age: 63

Place of residence: Tacoma

Job duties: “I’m loading and unloading buses and answering any questions people have.’

Favorite experience: “I actually haven’t had a chance to see much of the festival yet. Hopefully that changes this afternoon.”

Name: Vicki Borovich

Age: 65

Place of residence: Puyallup

Job duties: “I work at the information center. I give out maps, brochures and other things people need and sell golden Tall Ships Tacoma pins.”

Favorite experience: “I was a greeter yesterday, and I got to wander around, talk to people and hand out maps. Just chatting with people is the best experience.”

● The line to see the Class A ships is stretching longer than two hours. To compensate, Tall Ships organizers are handing out free bottles of water to those waiting in line. They’re also distributing free passports, which is a $10 value.

● The credit card system in the ticket booths is down. The problem, organizers say, is with the credit card companies, not the organization. But Tall Ships has negotiated the ATM fee from $4 to $2 for those who only brought plastic.

We're going to be profiling some of the volunteers who make Tall Ships Tacoma 2008 possible.

Name: Karen Knipher

Age: “50-something”

Job duties: “I make sure everyone in the VIP area is taken care of. Also, I make sure people who are going to be drinking alcohol are wearing the proper wristband.”

Favorite experience: “I have two. My favorite experience as a volunteer is just to be able to say thank you to all those who allow Tall Ships Tacoma to happen through their sponsorships. Personally, I went on a cruise on the Lady Washington last night during the fireworks. It was just a fabulous, fabulous time.”

The Tacoma Symphony Orchestra will perform a free concert tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. in Thea’s Park. (The U.S. Coast Guard Eagle as a backdrop? Now that’s a setting.)

The orchestra will perform “a program of light classics, popular and patriotic favorites,” according to a press release. Among them ate Tchaikovsky’s Russian Sailor’s Dance and John Phillip Sousa’s Anchor and Star March.

For those of you who only know classical music through movies, the orchestra will play The Blue Danube (the Strauss classic from “2001: A Space Odyssey”) and the theme music from Indiana Jones.

Camp Patriot, a non-profit which provides outdoor activities wounded veterans, is hosting a kick-off party for their “Quest for the Summit” program aboard the U.S. Coast Guard Eagle today.

Three vets will climb Mount Rainier beginning Monday, and two groups – Rainier Mountaineering Inc. and International Mountain Guides – will help with their ascent.

The meet-and-greet aboard the Eagle begins at 6 p.m.

We’re back at Tall Ships Tacoma 2008 today. We’ve got reporters covering ship liaisons, the volunteer effort, the crew of the HMS Oriole and the impact on local businesses. Photographers are going to be on sea and on the ground.