Countywide : Students May Apply to Join Tall Ship’s Crew

When the Californian, the state’s official tall ship, sails seaward under San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge in early August, officials of the Nautical Heritage Society in Dana Point hope that there will be more than a dozen young Orange County men and women among the crew.

Reggie Doll, a member of the nonprofit society’s Quarterdeck Committee, said there are 16 openings for students from the Orange County school system.

As crew members, the youths will help sail the 145-foot topsail schooner, modeled after a 19th-Century revenue cutter, on an 11-day cruise to Monterey, the Farallone Islands and Drake’s Bay, departing San Francisco Aug. 3.

While aboard, they also will study earth sciences, California history and other subjects.

Doll said cost for the trip is $700 per student, half of that amount to be paid on or before June 1. Selections are made on a first-come basis. Full information is available by calling the Nautical Heritage Society at (714) 661-1001.

As the state’s ocean-going representative, the Californian spends her time during most of each year on student-training cruises all along the coast, from San Diego and Dana Point northward and even to Sacramento. She also has sailed twice to Hawaii and once to Mexico, the latter voyage a mission to deliver supplies to earthquake victims.