NEWPORT, R.I. (AP) – Ships nearly the lengths of football fields and propelled by massive sails began arriving in the City by the Sea Thursday in anticipation of the Tall Ships Festival, a four-day event that brings together sailors from as far away as Romania and Uruguay.

Organizers were expecting about 10,000 people a day to attend the festival, which almost didn’t get off the ground after its organizer pulled out because of high security costs.

“This happened so fast,” said Eric Williams, vice chairman of a committee hosting the event.

The festival was canceled in May and then rescheduled last month after the organizer said it didn’t get a workable plan from the state and that costs were too high to ensure the public’s safety. State lawmakers rallied for more funds and state agencies were expected to pitch in $400,000 on security.

The committee, staffed by volunteers, pulled together the festival in six weeks. In 2000, the last time the Tall Ships visited Rhode Island, staffers had two years to plan, Williams said.

Tall Ships Rhode Island 2004 will be a slightly smaller version of past festivals, with fewer ships overall and not quite as many of the largest ones. And because of post-9/11 security, participants will be subjected to searches.

Bomb-sniffing dogs and portal-style metal detectors will be set up. Visitors won’t be allowed to bring backpacks or coolers into the area.

Also, the U.S. Coast Guard, state Department of Environmental Management, and local police will be patrolling the land and waters.

The DEM is planning to enforce temporary safety zones in Narragansett Bay and Newport Harbor during the festivities. Water traffic in those areas will be restricted.

Williams said despite the additional security, he’s confident the event will be successful, noting that the measures aren’t going to be as time consuming as passing through airport security.

“It’s all going to work,” he said.

Among the highlights of the four-day event are the opportunity to tour the ships and, on the last day of the event, to watch them join in a parade of sale in Narragansett Bay.

The flagships of the festival – Eagle, the U.S. Coast Guard’s 295-foot bark; Mircea, a 269-foot bark from Romania; Tenacious, a 213-foot bark from the United Kingdom; and Capitan Miranda, a 205-foot schooner from Uruguay – will be hard to miss.

“Everyone loves the ship parade,” Williams said, adding that it was important to bring the event back to Rhode Island because it has a history in the Ocean State, including events being held in 1976, 1986, 1992 and 2000.

“It’s always been fun,” he said.