19th-Century Sailing Ship Replica to Be Open for Tours

A full-scale replica of a 19th-Century sailing ship, complete with wooden masts, will dock at the Channel Islands Harbor on Saturday as part of the harbor’s 25th anniversary celebration.

Sponsored by the Ventura County Maritime Museum, the $450,000 ship Pilgrim will be docked behind the Whale’s Tail Restaurant and will be available for public tours until next Thursday.

As part of the festivities, the ship will be the site of the theatrical version of Richard Henry Dana’s epic “Two Years Before the Mast.” The one-act, one-man show, which will run Saturday and Sunday, depicts Dana’s experiences as a sailor aboard the Pilgrim in 1835.

Guided tours of the ship and the smaller ship Witch of Wood will be offered from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday through Thursday. The cost is $3, $1.50 for children 12 and under.

The original Pilgrim was built in Medford, Mass., in 1825 at a cost of $50,000 and was lost 21 years later in a fire at sea. The Pilgrim’s home dock is Dana Point Harbor, where it acts as a classroom for the Orange County Maritime Institute.