Lt. Cmdr. Erik James stood on the deck of the HCMS Oriole on Saturday morning and talked about his latest port of call during Tall Ships Tacoma 2008.

“Tacoma has been exceptionally well-organized,” he said.

Below decks, crew members of the Canadian navy’s oldest ship dozed or focused on laptop computers. Some made ready for the watch, and for the moment when the gates would open for public tours.

James commands a crew of five permanent personnel and a rotation of visiting Sea Cadets.

“They’re not bored and they’re all enjoying themselves. No one has been arrested,” he said with a smile.

The Oriole was launched in 1922 and delivered to the liquor baron who had ordered her built. She was donated to the navy and commissioned in 1957, and at 102 feet she can bunk 21 souls. Barely.

For this trip, James and other crew members took rooms at a downtown Tacoma hotel.

Based on Vancouver Island in Esquimalt, B.C., the Oriole sails the western coast of Canada for 120 to 160 days each year, James said, visiting coastal cities and villages – “the kinds of places where the whole town turns out.”

Along with the Oriole, the Canadian navy comprises 12 frigates, three destroyers and 12 minesweepers, and where these others are meant for war and defense, the Oriole has been given the purpose of training cadets under sail and engaging in public relations.

James, a 23-year navy veteran, is taking his first turn at the Oriole’s wheel for the Tall Ships tour. He has quickly learned its quirks. The finicky diesel stove in the galley bears the nickname “Heart of Darkness.”

James has also already learned what he believes to be the minimum requirements for a Tall Ships host.

“Showers, a place to dump garbage and electricity,” he said.

Tacoma offers all three, and more.

“There’s a lot to do in Tacoma,” he said.

“I love it,” said Matt Jobes, a second lieutenant (pronounced “lef-tenant”) with the Canadian air force, on loan for a few months to the navy while awaiting reassignment.

Tacoma, Jobes said, “just feels safe. And it’s super clean. The people are really friendly.”

By Saturday he’d been to a baseball game and taken in a movie ashore.

Erik Nielsen, a Sea Cadet chief petty officer 2nd class, joined the Oriole in late June.

On Saturday morning, he was thinking about visiting the Museum of Glass. He also was planning to participate in a soccer game scheduled for today.

He’d never visited Tacoma.

“Everyone seems very nice here,” he said. “It’s clean.”

And generous. Downtown museums are offering Tall Ships crew members free admission throughout the festival. When the crews arrived in port, organizers gave each member a welcoming bag that included information about the area, a souvenir neckerchief, coupons for discounts and free food, a ball cap, a coffee mug and more.

Alongside one of the piers, the festival has opened the Crew’s Lounge – a refurbished ferry boat where visitors can savor a free snack of fresh strawberries, peaches, bananas and cinnamon rolls at breakfast, or a barbecued burger, a hot dog or a pulled pork sandwich at lunch. Crew members on a break can use a computer, borrow a book or simply relax.

“I am so impressed,” said Rubie Johnson of the schooner the Adventuress.

“We’re having a great time meeting people, but it is nice to have a place like this,” said shipmate Elizabeth Becker. “Crews can catch up with each other. It’s a chance to get away from the crowds, check the Internet.”

At the recent Victoria, B.C., leg of Tall Ships, Becker said, the hosts “were also very hospitable. This is bigger. And we appreciate that Tacoma arranged cooler weather.”

Several crew members on Saturday took advantage of a free trip to Northwest Trek, and others visited Mount Rainier. There were tickets and transportation for a few hours of swimming at Stewart Heights Pool in Tacoma.

On Saturday night there was a “magic lantern show” at the downtown Pythian Temple. Today sees a showing of “The Black Pirate,” a silent swashbuckler starring Douglas Fairbanks.

The crews have said the support “has been better than anywhere else,” said Annette Spadoni Bannon, a volunteer at Crew’s Lounge.

“I’ve heard nothing but good things,” said Kelley Byers, chairman of crew events. “Two hundred hamburgers and a lot of hot dogs. Every single crew member smiles, and they shake your hand.”

Marann Fengler of Los Angeles is a crew member on the schooner the Lynx, sailing out of New Hampshire.

She recalled Saturday how organizers ran out of food at a barbecue in Victoria.

One of the nearly 600 Tall Ships crew members staying in Tacoma over the weekend, she wasn’t ready to offer a full schedule of what she planned to do while in port.

Not every moment needs a plan.

“Sometimes we’ll just stay on the boat and sleep,” she said.

C.R. Roberts: 253-597-8535

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