Dana Point : School Officials to Get Feet Wet in Sail Program

School administrators and other educators from all sections of Orange County will sail out of Dana Point Harbor aboard the revenue cutter Californian Feb. 27 to familiarize themselves with the vessel’s Sea Cadet program for high school students.

The 145-foot sailing ship, designed after the cutter Lawrence that patrolled the waters off San Francisco in the mid-19th Century, offers several 11-day cruises each year for young people from various parts of the state.

“The program gives students, both boys and girls, a rare chance to spend 11 days at sea, learning marine science, the art of sailing, navigation and other skills,” said Steve Christman, president of the Nautical Heritage Society which sponsored construction of the Californian in l983-84.

The school officials will be at sea for about three hours, long enough for them to get the feel of the boat and its appeal to young and old, Christman said.

Orange County high school students will take part in a cruise scheduled to depart Sausalito in San Francisco Bay Aug. 3, sail up the coast to Drake’s Bay, then around the Farallon Islands and down the coast to Monterey before returning to Sausalito.

On Feb. 28, a fund-raising fish fry to help support the cadet cruise will be held at the Youth Facility docks in the west end of Dana Point Harbor. Open to the public, the event will begin at 11 a.m. The fee is $12 per person, tax deductible, Christman said.