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September 7-9, 2012 Come and explore the majesty and wonder of tall ships through the smells, sounds and sights of real working tall ships.

Toshiba, Leading Innovation
Thank You for Your Support! The Ocean Institute thanks Toshiba for their generous support to ensure that our Tall Ships Festival remains exciting and engaging for our members and visitors.


Pirate Adventure Pass

Registration will open in June!

Pirate Adventure Passes include deck tours on all tall ships, activities aboard the brig Pilgrim and admission / activities inside the Ocean Education Center.

 

 

 


Orange County's most successful home raffle is back and better than ever. Enter for a chance to win a beautiful home in Laguna Beach, CA or $1 million cash. The Grand Prize has been awarded each year and all proceeds benefit the Ocean Institute. Click here to for Raffle Info

This year, the Ocean Institute is celebrating its 28th year hosting the Toshiba Tall Ships Festival! Come and explore the majesty and wonder of tall ships through the smells, sounds and sights of real working tall ships. Interactive living-history encampments including blacksmiths, scrimshaw artists, and the infamous Port Royal Privateers are sure to entertain and amaze guests of all ages and are not to be missed.

Inside the Ocean Institute, explore our work on protecting the local watersheds through hands-on labs and art activities, get up-close and personal with some of the ocean’s most amazing sea creatures, including sea stars, jellies, rays and octopus. Back by popular demand this year, your child may participate in our Friendly Pirate School! Watch as your child learns to talk like a pirate, walk like a pirate and sing like a pirate!

These are just some of the fun & exciting activities that will be a part of this year’s spectacular Toshiba Tall Ships Festival. Come celebrate with us as we celebrate the area’s rich maritime history!

Vendor Application (We are not accepting food vendor applications for the 2012 event)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tall Ship Festival Activity Prices


Registration will open in June 2012!

Grass Park Activities, Chantey Concert, Art & Craft Show, Food Court, Living History encampments and Vendor area FREE.

Pirate Adventure Pass

Members: $6.50 adults, $4.50 / children (2 & under, free)
Non-members: $10.00 adults, $8.00 / children (2 & under, free)

Pirate Adventure Passes include above-deck tours on all tall ships, activities aboard the brig Pilgrim, all activities inside the Ocean Education Center, and admission into the “Art and the Sea” workshop series.

Sunset Tall Ships Parade (Friday)

Members: $35 / adults, $26 / children (4-12yrs.)
Non-members: $45 / adults, $34 / children (4-12yrs.)

Parade Escort Cruise (R/V Sea Explorer)

Members: $25 / adults, $20 / children (4-12)
Non-members: $30 / adults, $25 / children (4-12yrs.)

Cannon Battle Cruises

Members: $50 / adults, $40 / children (4-12yrs.)
Non-members: $65 / adults, $51 / children (4-12yrs.)

Cannon Battle Escort Cruises aboard the R/V Sea Explorer

Members: $25 / adults, $20 / children (4-12yrs.)
Non-members: $30 / adults, $25 / children (4-12yrs)

 

Art and the Sea Workshop Series

Though life at sea could be hard and arduous, many sailors used their time aboard ship to perfect their seafaring arts.  New at the Toshiba Tall Ships Festival this year, the “Art of the Sea” workshop series will allow you and your family to step back in time and explore these lost maritime skills.

Taught by local artists and by representatives from the International Guild of Knot-Tyers, each workshop will cover one of three different seafaring arts.  Learn to spin your own rope, express yourself through scrimshaw, or create a miniature thump mat to take home!

Only a limited number of spaces are available for each workshop, and so advanced registration for this workshop series is recommended. 

Activities and Fun for Kids

At Baby Beach Park
Port Royal Privateer interactive encampment
Knot tying races
Outrageous face painting

On board the Pilgrim*
Interactive demonstrations
Ship tours

In the Maritime Barn*
“Art and the Sea” workshop series

Inside the Ocean Institute*
Performances by best-selling children’s recording artist Brent Holmes
Cap’n Jack’s School for Scallywags - learn to talk, walk and act like a friendly pirate! Family-friendly treasure hunts
Pirates! Story time inside the Children's Theater
Live ocean animals (including sea stars, sharks, rays, octopus & jelly fish)
Iteractive Exhibits: Come face to face with the myths and legends of the sea!

On the Docks*
Tall Ship deck explorations ( Ship deck tours concludes at 3:30 pm.)

Pirate Adventure Pass
(Registration opens in June!)
Members: $6.50 per adult, $4.50 per child (ages 3-12)
Non-members: $10 per adult, $8 per child (ages 3-12)
*Pirate Adventure Pass required.
*Pirate Adventure Pass fee includes above deck tall ship tours, Pilgrim activities and admission to the Ocean Institute.

 

Participating Tall Ships

Once again, Southern California’s premier marine educational facility, the Ocean Institute, located on the shores of the broad Pacific in the harbor at Dana Point, will stage its annual Tall Ships parade at sunset on September 7th, 2012. A record nine tall ships from ports up and down the west coast will assemble off the shores of South Laguna, and under full sail make way for Dana Point’s beautiful harbor, firing their cannons along the way. Those who have seen these magnificent ships in previous years know the surreal wonderment that this sight offers. For those who will witness this spectacular event for the first time, it will be an experience never to be forgotten!

Listed below are the participating ships for the 2012 Toshiba Tall Ships Festival. Please note, these vessels were confirmed at the time of posting, however, the world of Tall Ships is ruled by circumstances beyond our control, such as the winds, the tides and the whim of a Captain. As such, there remains the chance that the line-up could change, with some of the listed vessels dropping out…and additional vessels arriving.
Note: tallship photos ©Cliff Wassmann For more tall ship photos >>>

 

Brig Pilgrim

The Brig Pilgrim

The Pilgrim is a full size replica of the hide brig immortalized by Richard Henry Dana, Jr. in his American classic seafaring novel Two Years Before the Mast. She is a 130-foot "snow brig" hosting fourteen sails, including eight square sails, giving her that distinctively majestic appearance. At sea, the Pilgrim’s volunteer crew mans up to 144 lines in perfect synchronicity to sail her as in bygone times.

Coming to Dana Point in 1981, this community icon has served the Ocean Institute well. Having proven to be a most powerful educational tool, thousands of children step aboard the Pilgrim’s decks each school year to participate in one of her many award-winning living history programs. In the summer, the Pilgrim continues to celebrate her heritage as she heads to sea, with a crew of dedicated volunteers, to embark on her annual goodwill and sail training voyage.

 

The Spirit of Dana Point

The Ocean Institute’s second tall ship, the regal schooner, Spirit of Dana Point, allows students, educators and the general public the opportunity to cast off the dock for exciting sailing adventures that last anywhere from a few hours… to five days!

The Spirit of Dana Point is a traditionally built replica of a 1770s privateer employed during the American Revolution. She is classified as a 118-foot' topsail schooner, with a sparred length of 118 feet and 5,000 square feet of sail.

She now serves as an at-sea learning platform for school children of all ages with an emphasis in maritime living history and marine science. In keeping with the tradition of the Ocean Institute’s maritime programs, students are challenged to develop their problem solving and communication skills, as well as their ability to work as a team while developing a sense of leadership and self-esteem.

 

Irving Johnson and Exy Johnson

Launched in April 2003, the Irving and Exy Johnson are twin brigantines. The Exy Johnson is named in honor of Irving Johnson’s wife who traveled with him on his many adventures. The Exy Johnson can be identified by her red stripe along the hull. She was built side by side with the Irving Johnson using both traditional and modern methods in her construction. Both vessels serve the Los Angeles Maritime Institute in providing sail training opportunities for volunteers and students in the "TopSail" Youth Program.

For further information, contact Captain Jim Gladson at the Los Angeles Maritime Institute, San Pedro, CA (310) 833-6055. Website: www.brigantines.com

 

American Pride

This graceful 130' three-masted schooner, American Pride, was built in 1941, originally as a two-masted "schooner-dragger" and launched as the Virginia. She spent over 40 years commercially fishing the Grand Banks and George’s Banks. From 1968 to 1986 she was known as the Lady Blue and in 1986, she was completely re-built in Thomaston, Maine which included the addition of a third mast. The Lady Blue then became the Natalie Todd and operated as a charter boat out of Bar Harbor, Maine. In October of 1996, she was purchased by the American Heritage Marine Institute . Today, the majestic American Pride devotes her service to a variety of maritime history and marine science education programs as well as unique charter experiences. For more information, contact the American Heritage Marine Institute at (714) 970–8800 or look them up at www.americanpride.org.

 

Californian

This regal schooner, is owned and operated by the San Diego Maritime Museum. The Californian is a recreation of the 1849 Campbell-class Revenue Marine Cutter C.W. Lawrence. She is a 145' two-masted square topsail schooner. The Californian offers educational sailing programs for youth and sail training opportunities for volunteers.

The ship has been designated as the official tallship ambassador for the state of California and has a broad history having sailed to ports in Hawaii, Canada, and Mexico.

For more information, call the San Diego Maritime Museum at (619) 234-9153.

 

The Curlew

Designed by the legendary John G. Alden, Curlew was built in 1926 at Fred F. Pendleton's shipyard in Wiscasset, Maine. In the 40's, Curlew was donated to the Merchant Marine Academy where she served as a sail-training vessel and saw coastal submarine patrol duty for the Coast Guard during WWII.

A pioneer in the Caribbean charter trade, Curlew gained fame in 1962 by surviving a hurricane-like storm that claimed 144 lives. She later cruised extensively in the Central and South Pacific. In 1976, she was meticulously restored in New Zealand and then sailed to Hawaii where she was engaged in inter-island charters.

Curlew is a classic wooden boat. Her strong and graceful hull is sheathed in long leaf yellow pine over sturdy frames of white oak. Fully inspected and certified by the Coast Guard, Curlew is now permanently berthed in Dana Point Harbor at the Dana Wharf Sportfishing docks.

 

Amazing Grace

83' topsail schooner based out of San Diego's Mission Bay and Gig Harbor, WA.  This is her first time attending the Toshiba Tall Ships Festival, which is in its 26th year, and we are extremely excited to have her join our other seven tall ships!

Amazing Grace sets a square topsail on the foremast, and has seven fore and aft sails: gaff main, gaff topsail, main and fore staysails, fisherman staysail, and flying and inner jibs. These can be used in different combinations to suit the wind conditions. She was originally rigged as a brigantine and would have carried three square sails; a course, topsail, and topgallant.

 

Bill of Rights

This classic gaff topsail schooner was built in South Bristol, Maine by the Harvey Gamage Shipyard, a famous old-school New England yard. Built in 1971, the Bill of Rights sailed from Norfolk, Virginia, to join the Los Angeles Maritime Institute “TopSail” Youth Programs in March of 1998. Now, after having undergone considerable restoration, The Bill of Rights at 136’ long is currently located in Channel Islands Harbor and is operated by Steven Taylor.

For more information, visit the American Tall Ship Institute web site at www.americantallship.com or call (805) 320-7447

 

 

 

Events

  • Tall Ship and Great Schooner Parade

    On Friday, September 7, 2012, sails will appear off the Dana Point Headlands once more. From shore, watch as the crews of the Tall Ships prepare to enter the harbor around sunset as they defend themselves from the cannon blasts of renegade vessels.  Participating Tall Ships and Great Schooners will include the Pilgrim, Spirit of Dana Point, Exy Johnson, Irving Johnson, Californian, Amazing Grace, Bill of Rights, American Pride and Curlew.

  • Tall Ship Cannon Battles!

    At sunset on Saturday, September 8 and Sunday, September 9, sail aboard the tall ship of your choice and experience the thrill of a cannon battle at sea first-hand! This is an amazing opportunity and space on the vessels will fill fast, so book your tickets early.

  • Exciting Living History Reenactments!

    During the late 1700s and early 1800s, the British Royal Navy conducted a practice known as the Impressment Service.  Hired men called ‘gangers’ would seize unsuspecting seamen and “impress” them for service in the British Navy. Fierce fighting often broke out, but the seamen (generally ages 18 to 55 yrs) rarely got away. Impressments were a common and accepted method used by the British Navy to increase the size of their force. 

    The Naval Historical Education Foundation will demonstrate this practice in a dramatic re-enactment during the Toshiba Tall Ships Festival.  This exciting demonstration will take place on board the Pilgrim.  See the Event Schedule for presentation times.   

  • Sea Chantey Concerts

    Enjoy two full days of seafaring's best music. Sea chanteys, forebitters, ballads and more, including performances by nationally acclaimed musicians and dancers.

  • Annual Richard Henry Dana Charity Regatta

    This premier event, sponsored by the Dana Point Yacht Club, will benefit the Ocean Institute. The regatta includes: a Marine Corps Twilight Fishing Tournament; a Sponsor’s and VIP reception/ dinner held at the Ocean Institute; racing for PHRF, non-spinnaker, and junior sabot classes; and a gala dinner and auction at the Dana Point Yacht Club. All events are open to the public. For more info. and pricing, please visit www.dpyc.org.

  • Aboard the Tall Ship Pilgrim!

    Pirate Adventure Pass required
    Venture aboard the tall ship Pilgrim for a swashbuckling experience! Enjoy a variety of interactive.

  • Public Tours of the Tall Ships

    Pirate Adventure Pass required
    Explore the majesty and wonder of tall ships and speak with the men and women who sail them. All nine tall ships will be open for above deck tours from 10:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. The brig Pilgrim will remain open until 5:00 p.m. both days and will offer continuous activities and interactive demonstrations. We invite you to take advantage of this extraordinary opportunity and experience a taste of our rich maritime history.

  • Inside the Ocean Education Center
  • Performances by best-selling children’s recording artist Brent Holmes

    Pirate Adventure Pass required
    One part musician, one part biologist, and one part overly adventurous lover of everything outdoors, Brent Holmes has a lot of uncommon stories to tell.  As one of the best-selling children’s recording artists in the United States under his label Fun Tunes for Kids, his music has been lauded as “some of the prettiest and some of the silliest children’s songs ever recorded.”

    Over the past thirty years, Brent has performed for thousands of children and families across the country.  His warm voice and highly creative songs have helped his music earn a reputation as “The Children’s Music that Adults Adore.”  His large repertoire of tunes about marine animals, which have appeared on such albums as Sea Tunes for Kids and The Peanut Butter Pirates, bring the ocean to life as Brent sings about coral reefs, humpback whales, sea turtles, tall ships, and pirates. For more information on Brent, please visit http://www.funtunesforkids.com/
  • Captain Jack’s School for Scallywags
    Pirate Adventure Pass required
    Back by popular demand again this year, children can take part in Cap’n Jack’s School for Scallywags. Watch as your young buccaneers learn to walk, talk, and sing like a pirate!
  • Undersea explorations, treasure hunts, and more!
    Pirate Adventure Pass required
    Throughout the day, enjoy interactive demonstrations by the OC Wood Carvers and help paint a mural depicting the great maritime scenes of Dana Point’s past. Exciting labs throughout the day showcase myths and mysteries of the sea. You and your family can come face to face with a relative of the legendary kraken and explore the sunken ruins of Port Royal.
  • Laurena G. Chambers Gallery
    The Laurena G. Chambers Gallery offers a variety of distinctive products including books, puzzles, wind chimes, jewelry, home decor, apparel, and more! With new pirate loot arrival for the Festival, you're sure to find that perfect gift!

     

 

Live Music, Interactive Encampments, and Arts & Craft Show at Baby Beach Grass Park

With a spectacular view of the tall ships, the grass park hosts a fun-filled variety of festival activities. On stage, audiences can enjoy live seafaring music (presented by nationally acclaimed musicians)...

Other performances include storytellers and traditional hula dancers. Throughout the park, visitors can explore and experience interactive living-history encampments including blacksmiths, schrimshanders, medieval sword fighters and, the infamous Port Royal Privateers who are sure to entertain and amaze guests of all ages.

Additionally, visitors can participate in knot tying races or witness the spectacular art of traditional rope work.

Don’'t forget to check out the unique fine arts & craft show that has continued to grow each year offering a fabulous array of creative works including a booth by Poster artist Cliff Wassmann featuring of 20 years of Dana Point and Tall Ship Photography. Last but not least, all can enjoy the delicious variety of foods & tasty treats offered in the food court. See event schedule for individual activity times.

Live On Stage at Baby Beach Park Enjoy Live Sea-Faring Music and Special Performances

  • John Kraus (Saturday and Sunday)

John Kraus did not have headphones as a teenager. His brother’s ridiculously large stereo speakers turned inward at a distance barely exceeding the width of John Kraus’ head would have to do. John Kraus did not play jazz or classical music like his four siblings. A loud electric guitar would have to do. So, when the other siblings went on to earn advanced degrees in music, John went to sea -- on Tall Ships. It was on the corner of St. Anne and Bourbon Street in New Orleans while on tour when his destiny became clear. He would marry his two passions in life: music and sailing. This unlikely matrimony leaves one obvious and narrow genre: Sea Shanties. 

Taking a pointed stance against traditionally performed music, John performs a collection of some of the finest songs of the sea from the past two centuries, and some from contemporaries and decades not long past.  His music modernizes sea shanties in a way that leaves mockers of traditional music singing, and traditional music lovers scratching their heads and checking their rule books.

  • Three Times Through (Sunday Only)

Three Times Through originally started performing together during the Carter administration. Half of the quartet, Jeff and Gale Peach, moved to Nevada City in 1985. The other half, Greg and Margie Mirken, remained in Southern California, owned and ran a guitar store and continued performing. The Mirkens moved to Nevada City in 2008, and the four are having the time of their lives playing music together again.
Calling themselves Three Times Through, the group plays tradition-based music of Ireland, Scotland and America. Instruments include hammer dulcimer, fiddle, mandolin, concertina, cittern and guitar. The emphasis is on instrumentals, some lively toe-tappers and hauntingly beautiful airs.

Website: http://www.threetimesthrough.com/

  • Looney’s Fortune (Sunday only)

Based in Southern California, Looney's Fortune performs traditional Irish music and songs on hammered dulcimer, fiddle, guitar and accordion.  The group’s tight yet dynamic instrumentation supports the well blended vocal harmonies, proving that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts! 

Website: http://www.looneysfortune.com/

  • Rising Phoenix Morris (Saturday Only)

English Morris Dancing is a high-energy, exuberant dance form characterized by waving hankies and sticks clacking together, sometimes even flying from hand to hand. Based in the greater LA area, Rising Phoenix Morris appears at festivals and public venues bringing colour and fun with their unique 'village square' style of dancing and live music. Their goal is to bring pleasure to all who would take the time to watch and enjoy, as has been, and is still being done throughout the lovely countryside villages of England.

Website: http://risingphoenixmorris.org/
  • Bill Dempsey (Saturday and Sunday)
    Bill Dempsey is a fulltime public school music teacher and a part time professional singer, guitarist, shanty man and multi-instrumentalist. Bill began his association with the Ocean Institute in 1988 working on the tall ship Pilgrim. He has been a part of the Tall Ships Festival since 1990 singing sea chanteys from days gone by and works to organize the entertainers.
  • Hula Connection & Halau Hula Lani Ola

    • Beautifully costumed dancers bring to us the mystery and beauty of Polynesia in a variety of hulas using traditional Hawai’ian implements such as the ‘uli’uli, pu’ili, coconut, and ipu. This spectacular performance is one not to be missed!

Events Schedule

Friday, September 7th

Tall Ships Sunset Parade from South Laguna to Dana Point Harbor (3:30 to 7:30 pm)
The setting sun creates a colorful backdrop as a flotilla of tall ships – truly a vision from the past – makes its way to Dana Point Harbor. Sign aboard for this extraordinary event and help us celebrate the opening of the 28th Annual Toshiba Tall Ships Festival.

Viewing available from Dana Point headlands, above Dana Point Harbor, and Old Cove Native Plant Preserve, located behind the Ocean Institute

Saturday, September 8th

General

9:30 am Shuttle service begins (see map)
10:00 am Toshiba Tall Ships Festival 2012 opens
10:00 am Ocean Institute opens
10:00 am Tall ships open for tours
3:30 pm Tall ships tours conclude, except brig Pilgrim (ships get ready for cannon battles)
4:30 pm Tall Ships Sunset Cannon Battle cruises (4:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.)
5:00 pm Ocean Institute and brig Pilgrim close
5:00 pm Chantey concert concludes and brig Pilgrim tours conclude
5:30 pm Tall ships sunset cannon battle cruises (4:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.)
9:00 pm Shuttle service ends

Baby Beach Grass Park
(On Stage)

10:00 am Bill Dempsey
10:45 am John Kraus
11:30 am Rising Phoenix Morris
12:00 pm John Kraus
1:00 pm Bill Dempsey
1:30 pm Hula Connection
2:30 pm Rising Phoenix Morris
3:00 pm John Kraus
4:00 pm Rising Phoenix Morris
4:30 pm Bill Dempsey
5:00 pm Chantey concert concludes for the day

Inside the Ocean Institute

10:00 am
 Animal Tanks & Learning Centers Open (all day)
Family-Friendly Pirate Treasure Hunt
Wood Carving Demonstrations presented by OC Wood Carvers
10:30 am Visions of the Deep
10:45 am Squid Dissection
11:00 am Cap’n Jack’s School for Scallywags – Kids’ Pirate School
11:15 am Story time inside the children’s theater
11:30 am Animal Feeding (Location to be announced)
11:45 am Pirate Craft
12:00 pm Live Performance by Children’s Recording Artist Brent Holmes
12:45 pm Visions of the Deep
1:00 pm Cap’n Jack’s School for Scallywags – Kids’ Pirate School 
1:45 pm Squid Dissection
2:00 pm Live Performance by Children’s Recording Artist Brent Holmes
2:45 pm Visions of the Deep
3:00 pm Pirate Craft
3:15 am Live Performance by Children’s Recording Artist Brent Holmes
3:30 pm Squid Dissection
4:15 pm Cap’n Jack’s School for Scallywags – Kids’ Pirate School
4:30 pm Visions of the Deep
5:00 pm Ocean Institute closes
   

On Board the Brig Pilgrim

10:00 am Ship Deck Tours Begin
11:30 am “Art and the Sea” Workshop Series: Rope Making(in Maritime Barn)
12:00 pm Pillage and Plunder with Black Bart and his Band of Pirates
1:00 pm Sail handling demonstration with the brig Pilgrim’s Sail Crew
1:30 pm “Art and the Sea” Workshop Series: Scrimshaw(in Maritime Barn)
3:00 pm Cannon Firing Demonstration
3:30 pm “Art and the Sea” Workshop Series: Knot Tying
4:30 pm Pillage and Plunder with Black Bart and his Band of Pirates
5:00 pm Ship Deck Tours Conclude

 

Sunday, September 9th

General

9:30 am Shuttle service begins (see map)
10:00 am Toshiba Tall Ships Festival 2012 opens
10:00 am Ocean Institute opens
10:00 am Tall ships open for tours
3:30 pm Tall ships tours conclude, except brig Pilgrim (ships get ready for cannon battles)
4:30 pm Tall Ships Sunset Cannon Battle cruises (4:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.)
5:00 pm Ocean Institute and brig Pilgrim close
5:00 pm Chantey concert concludes and brig Pilgrim tours conclude
5:30 pm Tall ships sunset cannon battle cruises (4:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.)
9:00 pm Shuttle service ends

Baby Beach Grass Park
(On Stage)

10:00 am Bill Dempsey
10:45 am Looney’s Fortune
11:35 am John Kraus
12:15 pm Three Times Through
1:00 pm Halau Hula Lani Ola
2:00 pm John Kraus
2:45 pm Looney’s Fortune
3:30 pm Three Times Through
4:15 pm Bill Dempsey
5:00 pm Chantey concert concludes for the day

Inside the Ocean Institute

10:00 am
 Animal Tanks & Learning Centers Open (all day)
Family-Friendly Pirate Treasure Hunt
Wood Carving Demonstrations presented by OC Wood Carvers
10:30 am Visions of the Deep
10:45 am Squid Dissection
11:00 am Cap’n Jack’s School for Scallywags – Kids’ Pirate School
11:15 am Story time inside the children’s theater
11:30 am Animal Feeding (Location to be announced)
11:45 am Pirate Craft
12:00 pm Live Performance by Children’s Recording Artist Brent Holmes
12:45 pm Visions of the Deep
1:00 pm Cap’n Jack’s School for Scallywags – Kids’ Pirate School 
1:45 pm Squid Dissection
2:00 pm Live Performance by Children’s Recording Artist Brent Holmes
2:45 pm Visions of the Deep
3:00 pm Pirate Craft
3:15 am Live Performance by Children’s Recording Artist Brent Holmes
3:30 pm Squid Dissection
4:15 pm Cap’n Jack’s School for Scallywags – Kids’ Pirate School
4:30 pm Visions of the Deep
5:00 pm Ocean Institute closes
   

On Board the Brig Pilgrim

10:00 am Ship Deck Tours Begin
11:30 am “Art and the Sea” Workshop Series: Rope Making(in Maritime Barn)
12:00 pm Pillage and Plunder with Black Bart and his Band of Pirates
1:00 pm Sail handling demonstration with the brig Pilgrim’s Sail Crew
1:30 pm “Art and the Sea” Workshop Series: Scrimshaw(in Maritime Barn)
3:00 pm Cannon Firing Demonstration
3:30 pm “Art and the Sea” Workshop Series: Knot Tying
4:30 pm Pillage and Plunder with Black Bart and his Band of Pirates
5:00 pm Ship Deck Tours Conclude

 

 

Festival Cruises

Toshiba Tall Ships Festival Sunset Parade

Cast off for adventure aboard an historic tall ship during the annual tall ships parade at sunset on Friday, September 9th, 2011.  Work with the crew hauling up sail or simply sit back and enjoy the spectacular demonstration of skill, knowledge and survival!

Sunset Parade Sail Time:
4:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Check-in: 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Sunset Parade Boarding Times: 3:30 p.m.

Prices:
Members: $35 / adults, $26 / children (4-12yrs.)
Non-members: $45 / adults, $34 / children (4-12yrs.)

 

Toshiba Tall Ships Festival Sunset Parade Escort Cruise

Enjoy a sunset cruise aboard the R/V Sea Explorer while experiencing the beauty and joy of the grand opening of the Toshiba Tall Ships Festival!

Escort Cruise Time:
5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
(aboard the R/V Sea Explorer)
Check-in: 1:00 – 4:00 p.m.
Escort Cruise Boarding Time: 4:30 p.m.

Prices:
Members: $25 / adults, $20 / children (4-12yrs.)
Non-members: $30 / adults, $25 / children (4-12yrs.)

 

 

 

Toshiba Tall Ships Festival Cannon Battle Cruises

Description:  Experience the smells, sounds and sights of a real working tall ship!  Enjoy blasting cannons, towering rigging, bustling decks and the magnificence of canvas full of wind.  Work with the crew hauling up sail or simply sit back and enjoy the spectacular demonstration of skill, knowledge and survival!

Cannon Battle Sail Time:
4:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Check-in:
10:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Cannon Battle Boarding Time: 4:00 p.m. 

 

Toshiba Tall Ships Festival Cannon Battle Escort Cruise

Enjoy a cruise aboard the R/V Sea Explorer while experiencing the smells, sounds and sights of blasting cannons, towering rigging, bustling decks and the magnificence of canvas full of wind during the Toshiba Tall Ships Festival!  

Escort Cruise Time:
5:45 p.m. – 7:15 p.m.
(aboard the R/V Sea Explorer)
Check-in: 4:45 p.m.
E scort Cruise Boarding Time:
5:15 p.m.

Prices:
Members: $25 / adults, $20 / children (4-12yrs.)
Non-members: $30 / adults, $25 / children (4-12yrs.)

 

 

Parking / Shuttle Service

During the Tall Ships Festival, parking in the harbor area will be very limited and there will be no onsite parking at the Ocean Institute. For your convenience, free parking and shuttle service will be available at: Salt Creek Beach Park at Pacific Coast Highway and Selva Road (See map below).

Warning! Parking is expected to be extremely impacted during the festival weekend. There is no parking allowed on Dana Point Harbor Drive during the Toshiba Tall Ships Festival.

Salt Creek Parking Lot
If traveling on the I-5 South: exit on Pacific Coast Highway. If traveling on the I-5 North: exit at Beach Cities. From either offramp, go past Dana Point Harbor Drive approximately 1.7 miles. Turn left on Selva Road. Lot will be on the right.

 


View Larger Map

Please allow ample time to get from the offsite parking lots to the Ocean Institute festival site. Shuttles will run continuously during Festival hours. The last shuttle will leave the Ocean Institute lot 1/2 hour after Cannon Battle Cruise ships return.

Contact Us

If you have any questions, feel free to call the Ocean Institute at (949) 496-2274

Pirates

Pirates or Privateers??

Many landlubbers might be easily confused as to the difference between a "Pirate" and a "Privateer"... Below is a simple description of the two to ensure that all brave souls who venture to the 2012 Festival are clear on who’s is who, and whom to watch out for!!

Pirates

A pirate is one who commits “piracy” by engaging in robbery, pillaging, or plundering at sea (or sometimes on shore). A pirate is someone who attacked and captured ships from any nation he so chose -- not having been commissioned by a sovereign nation. Pirates lived by their own rules. If a pirate wwere caught by any country, the punishment was usually death.

Privateers

A Privateer would hold what is called a "Letter of Marque." This was an official government document that stated that the individual could legally hunt and capture any ships of that country's enemy. Privateers had immunity for the country that commissioned them, but were considered prisoners of war if caught by other countries. Privateers were sometimes known as “gentlemen pirates."

The Pirate of San Juan Bay (Dana Point)

Dana Point had only one real pirate encounter but it was a devastating event in history for the local San Juan Mission and Rancho Capistrano cattle ranch.

On December 14, 1818, a pirate fleet led by Hippolyte de Bouchard, anchored in the waters just off Dana Point (San Juan Bay). That same night Bouchard led his crew to the San Juan Mission in search of rumored gold. The pirate band attacked the mission, ransacking and pillaging for hours only to find no treasure. Bouchard then led his pirate band just north to Rancho Capistrano assuming that the gold must be hidden somewhere on the ranch grounds. Once again finding no booty, the angered Bouchard led a devastating & murderous assault on the Ranch. This tragedy led to the end of the working ranch until the middle 1800s.

San Juan was one of many pirate attacks led by Bouchard on the California Coast including Monterey and Santa Barbara.

Cap’n Jack’s School for Scallywags

Your child may participate in Cap’n Jack’s School for Scallywags (a friendly pirate school for kids). Watch as your child learns to talk like a pirate, walk like a pirate and sing like a pirate! Our pirate is an excellent shipwright, but not quite right. He has sailed the coasts of Europe, Africa, and South America, with the English Navy...mostly chained below decks. Since his lucky escape, he has hidden out in the Caribbean, sailing with the buccaneers of Port Royal and the Brethren of the Coast. See event schedule for performance times.