Fleet Week Chair Lisa Richards and Tom Caughlan, executive director of the Fleet Week Foundation, view a Fleet Week map. This year’s tribute to the military will stretch from Sept. 23 to Oct. 28. (photo/lambertphoto.com)

Selling Fleet Week to San Diegans is like selling shore leave to a sea-weary sailor. The annual salute to the military attracts a generous number of residents eager to take part in what is called “the largest military open house in the world.”

But the misnamed event — it’s more like four weeks long — has for the last few years been luring a growing crowd of out-of-towners with heavy wallets and purses.

“Fleet Week has become an economic boom for the city,” says Lisa Richards, chair of Fleet Week 2006 and president of the board of the Fleet Week Foundation, the nonprofit organization that puts together events for the annual tribute, which this year runs from Sept. 23 through Oct. 28.

Although no formal studies have been done on the economic impact of Fleet Week, anecdotal information suggests that it has a large effect on tourism. Hotels on property controlled by the San Diego Unified Port District say they are full on weekends when major events of Fleet Week are held on or near the bay, such as the Sea ‘n’ Air Parade and Festival of Speed. “The Port is thrilled that visitors fill up all the hotels and the Gaslamp Quarter,” says Richards, who heads Hospitality Inc., a catering and special events company.

Retired Marine Col. Thomas Caughlan, Fleet Week Foundation’s executive director, says Fleet Week also attracts military reunion groups who like to schedule their get-togethers during the weeks of Fleet Week.

The cost of putting on the tribute jumped from $600,000 in 2004 to $1 million last year, says Caughlan, primarily because of new events added. This year’s 10th anniversary program will cost $1.1 million and will involve the work of 275 volunteers. The Port is a “Five-Star” sponsor, along with Northrup Grumman, SRT, USAA and The San Diego Union-Tribune.

Caughlan, the first commander of Marine Corps Air Station Miramar who later became chief of staff for all Marine Corps air bases in the West, says a new feature of this year’s Fleet Week will be tours of the SS Jeremiah O’Brien Sept. 27-29.

The O’Brien is a Liberty ship based in San Francisco, one of two fully restored operating survivors of the 2,710 World War II Liberty ships. It is the only ship that took part in the Normandy invasion and returned a half-century later to take part in the 50th anniversary of D-Day. A limited number of passengers (800) will be able to ride aboard the O’Brien as it participates in the Sept. 30 Sea ‘n’ Air Parade along the bay. “It’s $50 for breakfast, lunch and a ride — a bargain,” says Caughlan. Tickets may be ordered from the San Diego Maritime Museum at (619) 234-9153 or online at sdmaritime.org. Proceeds will be shared by the National Liberty Ship Memorial and the Maritime Museum.

Another new feature of Fleet Week will be a tribute to Bob Hope. Navy veterans of WWII will dedicate a memorial to the late entertainer Oct. 25 at 2 p.m. in the greenbelt area next to the Fish Market Restaurant on the waterfront near Broadway and Harbor Drive. Members of “Taffy 3,” code name for the 13-ship task force involved in the Battle of Leyte Gulf during WWII, will be present. The memorial will include a statue of Hope and statues representing men and women who served in all branches of the military from WWII through Desert Storm.

One of the memorial organizers is Jack Yusen, 80, of Bellevue, Wash., who was a sailor aboard the USS Samuel B. Roberts, a destroyer escort that was one of five ships lost in the battle. He says Hope is being honored for the years he spent entertaining U.S. troops around the world.

The Miramar Air Show at MCAS Miramar Oct. 13-15 is one of the most popular events of Fleet Week and features military and civilian pilots in the air and 200 ground displays. It usually attracts a half-million spectators.

To Richards, Fleet Week is an opportunity for residents to mingle with the men and women of the military in an exciting atmosphere of celebration and patriotism. “It’s all about gratitude,” says Richards, who got involved as a volunteer eight years ago and was invited to be a foundation board member. “It pulls the community together.”

San Diego, home of the largest military complex in the world, also is home to 130,000 members of the military, says Caughlan. That’s about 4.3 percent of the county’s 3 million population. “Fleet Week is the chance for people to get to know the men and women who wear the ‘cloth of the nation,’” Caughlan says.

The dates, times and locations of all Fleet Week 2006 events can be found online at fleetweeksandiego.org. Fleet Week Foundation headquarters is at (619) 858-1546.