PORT ANGELES — Seamen from across the ocean turned a three-day tour into a shopping spree this week.
With 100-dollar bills in hand, groups both small and large of mostly Russian mariners were seen frequenting Port Angeles stores, buying anything from electronics to sporting goods, from candy and soda to cases and cases of beer, from Sunday through Tuesday.
The mariners left Wednesday, with their next stop to be Seattle.
They were part of a multinational exercise, known as Pacific Unity, that took place in Port Angeles early this week. It involved Coast Guard-related crews from Russia, Japan, South Korea, China, Canada, and of course, the United States.
At Wal-Mart, dozens of seamen from Russia and a few possibly from Japan, left with bags of full of electronics and candy, some witnesses reported. Store management were either unavailable or declined to verify such statements.
At Safeway on Lincoln Street, about 100 uniformed Russians bought mostly phone cards. Many spent the next few hours taking turns using a pay phone, perhaps to call loved ones back home.
Cashier Robbie Jones said a lot of customers tried to communicate with them, but few of the sailors could speak English.
“They have very little English and we have very little Russian,” he said. “There was not a lot of communication.”
T-shirts, postcards
At Bay Variety, the visiting sailors bought Port Angeles T-shirts, postcards, small American flags and even one foot bath, said Ruby Hiener, assistant manager.
Over at Swain’s General Store, about five Russian sailors purchased Leatherman knives and folding lawn chairs, said Laurie Minor, store merchandise buyer.
Another group of mostly Russian sailors bought a couple of mugs from the Unique Treasures Mall, said owner Barb Gregory.
The mugs could have perhaps come in handy when finishing off the couple dozen beer cases purchased at the Food Mart at 331 W. First St. on Sunday.
Store clerk Dale Seera said about 20 Russian sailors spent a total of $415.63 on beer, mostly Budweiser and Miller, as well as cigarettes.
Two of them spent a total of $140 on candy, he said.
While he still had such merchandise left over, Seera said he had never seen so much beer and cigarettes purchased at once.
“Not on a Sunday,” he said with a smile. “Never ever.”
“Not even candy. Not any day like this.”
Taverns
Sailors also took advantage of the local watering holes.
Vivian Burtelson, owner of The Gateway tavern, said her place was full of Russian — and a few Japanese — sailors for three nights in a row.
“Oh, they drank everything,” she said, when asked what they favored.
“Sunday was shot night,” Burtleson said, adding that her place ran out of clean shot glasses.
All together, local merchants were pleased about their arrival.
“I think it was great,” Hiener said.
“I’m sure they spent a lot of money and helped the economy.”
U.S. Coast Guard spokeswoman Petty Officer Allyson Conroy said she didn’t know how many sailors from each nation were in town.
Agencies didn’t know
While commerce certainly benefited from their visit, representatives of both the Port Angeles Downtown Association and Port Angeles Regional Chamber of Commerce — which have greeted cruise ship passengers with information on shopping and sights to see in town and provided transportation in order to help boost the local economy — had nothing prepared for the sailors.
Representatives of both organizations said they didn’t hear of their upcoming arrival until they read about it in the Peninsula Daily News on Friday.
“We didn’t know they were coming,” said Barb Frederick, downtown association executive director.
Said Louann Yager, chamber visitors center coordinator, “We didn’t get a notice.”
Frederick said nothing was put together at the last minute because the association didn’t know how long the sailors were staying in Port Angeles.
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Reporter Tom Callis can be reached at 360-417-3532 or at tom.callis@peninsuladailynews.com.
