Toshiba Tall Ships Festival

“One by one, the few remaining sailing ships are disappearing. They drop away and are heard of no more. With them goes much that is worthy and incalculable. It passes like a high squall sinking beyond the horizon, wind and sea, motion and color, romance and inspiration, a whole range of human endeavor, all vanishing to leeward with tall ships in their midst... The sailing ship stood for a means whereby men were brought to their fullest development. She stood for a profession in which only merit could endure. She stood for things the world cannot afford to lose.”

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, 2007. Seven tall ships from ports up and down the west coast will assemble off the shores of Laguna Niguel, 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!

This year’s Toshiba Tall Ship Festival celebrates the Pilgrim’s 25th year in Dana Point! 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.

Join us September 8th and personally witness the Pilgrim in all her glory as she sails by the Dana Point Headlands, during the 2007 Toshiba Tall Ships Festival Sunset Parade.

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. Designed by Howard Chapelle in the late eighteenth century and built by Dennis Holland in Costa Mesa, California, she was launched in 1983. Her design, known for speed, precedes the Baltimore Clipper, enabling these vessels to be used for smuggling, the slave trade, and privateering.

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. The Spirit of Dana Point has proven to be an extraordinary addition to the Ocean Institute’s award-winning programs.

The Spirit of Dana Point also offers public “Pyrate” sails and is available for private events and cruises.

****Spirit of Dana Point will only be available for public tours on Sunday, September 9th. On Saturday, September 8th, she will be participating in the Richard Henry Dana Charity Regatta.

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.
Web site: www.brigantines.com

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 and began her historic 7500-mile sail through the Panama Canal to her new home in Rainbow Harbor, Long Beach. 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 @ (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.

2007 Participating Tall Ships