Welcome aboard the Victoria Clipper.
We’re passing Kingston, heading for Victoria Harbour and the first festival of the 2008 Tall Ships Challenge.

It should be a doozy.

British Columbia marks its 150th anniversary as a crown colony this year, and Tall Ships is the premier event of the celebration, said Geoff Corbett, Executive Director of Victoria Tall Ships Society.

They’re having some fun with that centennial-and-a-half at the festival, with many of their performances tied to Victoria’s history.

And they’ll have historically correct food.

A group called History Bites has lined up vendors to sell dishes that represent each of BC’s official decades, everything from venison to crumpets. We’ll sample a few of the historical flavors and get back to you.

We’ve run into several folks on the Clipper who are heading up for Tall Ships. That should warm the cockles of B.C. government types.

“The provincial government has been very supportive of the event,” Corbett said.

No wonder.

Economists from the University of British Columbia studied the impact Tall Ships 2005 had on the province.

“We had a $4.3 to $5 million boost to the economy as a direct result of funds brought in from outside,” Corbett said.

It looks promising for a repeat. The hotels are getting full. Tickets to board the ships have been selling briskly.

“We’ve seen ticket sales to people from five or six European Countries,” Corbett said. ”And Alberta has been a huge market. Last time it accounted for 10 or 11 percent of the tickets. Now it may be higher.”

Consider that a reminder to call all your friends and relations in Idaho and Michigan and tell them they still have time to get their debit cards out to Commencement Bay by July 3.