 Shore thing ... a file shot of the USS George Washington which has docked in Perth and is likely to provide plenty of customers for Perth brothel Langtrees (inset) |
Nuclear powered aircraft carrier USS George Washington and guided missile cruiser USS Cowpens docked off Fremantle yesterday.
Prevalent in groups of five or six on the streets of Perth today, some sailors were asking locals: "Where do you go to party?``.
Business groups estimate the sailors` arrival will boost the local economy to the tune of $5 million during the ships` five-day stay.
The owner of Perth brothel Langtrees, Beverly Clarke, said today she had put on five extra staff for the weekend, including two from the eastern states.
While there had already been a marginal increase in business, she expected numbers to increase markedly by tonight.
"Two more (US) sailors just walked in,`` she said while being interviewed this afternoon.
"At the moment I`ve even got girls from the eastern states here to assist us.``
When a similar number of sailors appeared in Perth in 2002, Langtrees was overwhelmed with the demand and was forced to shut its doors.
Then brothel madam Mary-Anne Kenworthy said her staff and workers at other brothels had become exhausted and that she would rather stop business than offer customers an inferior service.
The story sparked outrage in the US town of Bremerton, home to hundreds of navy families, after a local newspaper ran the story.
The paper was forced to apologise to its readers after receiving several angry letters from the wives and girlfriends of sailors who had been on board the navy ships embroiled in the story.
While some Perth brothels preferred to keep their own counsel today, others like Maddison Avenue said they were preparing for a busy weekend.
"We`ll find out tonight (if we are busy),`` a spokeswoman said.
"We`ve got all staff rostered on and a couple of more girls than a normal Friday night.``
"Mandy`` from City West Massage also said they were preparing for a bumper weekend.
"Normally when the US sailors come in we definitely do have a surge in business and we expect that over the weekend,`` she said.
