More than 100,000 people flooded San Pedro over the Memorial Day weekend to attend the ninth annual Los Angeles Fleet Week, according to organizers.
Those crowds showed once again that Fleet Week has become one of San Pedro’s most popular annual events.
It wasn’t a big surprise. The four-day event, after all, had a major draw, with an aircraft carrier among the ships on hand for tours for the first time in years.
Scoring a tour of the impressive USS Carl Vinson, however, wasn’t for the faint of heart, with some waiting hours. Many, though, said it was worth the wait.
“It was so worth it,” said Kathy Gooley of Panorama City, a former Los Angeles Unified school teacher. “I figure, how many people can say that they stood on the deck and below of one of the 11 active aircraft carriers currently deployed around the world?”
Others struck out, getting turned away after it was determined the ship tours were at capacity for the day.
“We did talk to some disappointed people,” said Elise Swanson, president and CEO of the San Pedro Chamber of Commerce who coordinated the information booths. “These were probably the largest Fleet Week crowds I’ve worked with.”
Some who had been turned away on earlier days were so determined to get on board the massive carrier in the Outer Harbor that they returned before dawn on Monday, Fleet Week’s final day, to begin forming a line at 4:30 a.m., Swanson said.
On Saturday, organizers pivoted to a time-stamped ticket disbursement system, providing those in line with a designated hour time frame. That helped, said Arley Baker, senior director of communications for the Port of Los Angeles.
“By and large, people understood and they were patient,” Baker said. “Certainly some people were broken-hearted that they weren’t able to get on the Carl Vincent.”
Despite the disappointment, Baker said, “I think everyone understood we were on a first come, first serve basis.”
The demand likely stems from how…
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