It will be SEARed into your memory:
"Tall Ships event in Boston Harbor is deemed a high security risk" by Brian MacQuarrie Globe Staff June 13, 2017
The much-anticipated arrival of the Tall Ships in Boston this weekend has been designated one of the highest security risks in the country this year, ranking behind only a handful of national events such as the presidential inauguration, the state’s homeland security adviser said Tuesday.
The federal government’s analysis, known as “special event assessment rating 1,” ranks the event as a greater security risk than the Boston Marathon and Boston’s July Fourth celebration, and is equivalent to the Super Bowl, said Patrick McMurray, the state’s undersecretary for homeland security.
“It's a new world environment now,” said McMurray, who worked for the Secret Service for 25 years.
The elevated assessment comes after several terror attacks in Europe that have targeted scores of civilians and put law enforcement on even higher alert. Boston has not had a security operation of this scope since the Democratic National Convention in 2004, McMurray said, and fewer than 10 events in the United States this year have been classified as SEAR 1.
McMurray stressed that no specific threat has been discovered, but several factors — millions of potential spectators, complex geography involving land and sea, and the arrival of foreign ships and dignitaries, for example — prompted the Department of Homeland Security to label Sail Boston as SEAR 1, he said.
By contrast, the Marathon and Independence Day concert on the Esplanade are designated SEAR 2, he said.
Thousands of public safety personnel, including the entire Boston Police Department, will be deployed during Sail Boston 2017, which is scheduled to begin with a parade of more than 55 Tall Ships on Saturday and last until the vessels depart June 22. At least 3 million spectators are expected to attend.
Even if they get far fewer they will tell us they got more. It's happened before.
Security will be provided on land, air, and sea, including protection from three Coast Guard cutters and the air wing of the State Police. Spectators will undergo individual screening and be barred from bringing a range of items to the viewing areas, including backpacks, cans, bicycles, firearms, and sharp objects.
“We’re using all the tools we can to keep the citizens safe and be reasonable,” McMurray said.
You know what? Who wants to sit out in the hot sun watching a bunch of boats go by? Is it really worth the hassle?
That will include parking restrictions and road closings, including Northern Avenue and many secondary streets in the Seaport District.
John Kelly, the national homeland security secretary, was recently briefed on Sail Boston preparations, McMurray said.
The public safety presence will be about four times as large as it was during the last Boston appearance of the Tall Ships in 2009, said Dusty Rhodes, the event organizer.....
If I remember correctly, there was some sort of argument over who pays during a state budget crisis?
How little things change around here, huh?
Weren't they supposed to come before now?
What happened? 2012 was simply toned down?
Meaning 2009 wasn't the last time they appeared. WTF?
--more--"
“It’s sort of an all-hands-on-deck situation,” and what I would do is STAY the HELL AWAY FROM Bo$ton at ALL COSTS!
The schooner cost how much tax loot to get ready to sail?
You know what you can do with your damn flag.
