Fie on the French.

They’re hogging all the tallest ships.

I met with the organizers behind Tacoma Waterfront Association this afternoon, and learned why C.G. Cutter Eagle will likely be the only large Class A ship at Tall Ships Tacoma, July 3-7.

Turns out, France is hosting a Tall Ships extravaganza that’s drawing the biggest barques and schooners to L’Armada Rouen, 2008.

One of our Tall Ships 2005 favorites, the Mexican naval training Cuauhtemoc, chose France over the 2005 Tall Ships Challenge Port of the year. If you’d like to find out who else will be joining her, log onto the Rouen festival’s Web site.
That we will have Eagle is a typical Tacoma miracle.

Stan Selden, one of the 2005 Tall Ships organizers, said the West Coast Tall Ships Challenge had zero chance at America’s Tall Ship. The word was that Eagle would likely revisit Rouen, where it had been a huge hit in 2005
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Telling Tacoma’s Tall Ships crew that something’s impossible is the best way to make it not only possible, but spectacular. For historical context, see the 2005 Tall Ships Festival.

“We were challenged when we were told we could not do it,” Selden said of snaring Eagle, which is based in New London, Conn. “We organized a letter-writing campaign.”

If they did not ask you to write to Coast Guard brass requesting the presence of a 295-foot full-rigged ship in Commencement Bay July 3-7, it’s only because they didn’t have your cell phone number. The Coast Guard gave in, committing Eagle to star in festivals from Victoria to San Diego.

What the remaining two Class A ships lack in size, they will make up in style. HMS Bounty was built in 1960 for the movie “Mutiny on the Bounty.” That’s the Marlon Brando version. The brigantine Kaisei, launched in 1990, has sailed the world on international peace missions.

While they’ll be the biggest stars at this year’s festival, the smallest will be the fleet of four Duffy electric boats on loan from Mike Jameson of Admiralty Yacht Sales.

Jameson is introducing the eco-friendly boats to the market. He hopes they’ll be the friendliest crowd-movers on the Foss during the festival, and that they’ll be fixtures on a lively Foss for years to come. To take a peek at the shamelessly cute watercraft, click here.