Dana Point : Schooner Californian to Return to Dana Point

After four months of cruising northern California and offshore island waters, the schooner Californian will return to Dana Point Harbor Sept. 16, when the state’s official tall ship will use her new, permanent mooring for the first time.

Steve Christman, president of the Dana Point Nautical Heritage Society, said one of two 10,000-pound anchors, along with its buoy, has been installed in the harbor’s west end for the Californian. A second anchor and buoy will be put in place in the next few days. The gear was donated by the Navy.

“This will be the Californian’s first dedicated mooring in the state,” Christman said, adding that in her previous visits to Dana Point, the vessel has had to use her own anchors.

The ship will stop first at Newport Harbor on Aug. 28. She will remain on the Orange County coast until next May and will be available for cadet voyages and adult education programs. The schooner will take part in the annual Tallships Race on Oct. 3 and 4 starting at Channel Islands Harbor in Ventura and finishing at Dana Point.

Christman said the 146-foot square-topsail schooner, modeled after a 19th century revenue cutter, will also participate in the Nov. 15 Parade of Sail during the 1987 Congressional Medal of Honor Convention in Newport Beach.