DANA POINT : Tall Ship Replica to Sail Into Harbor

About 205 years after its namesake became the first American Colonial vessel to reach land on the West Coast, the Lady Washington will sail into the Dana Point Harbor today.

Off the coast of Orange County, the 112-foot, full-size tall ship replica will exchange cannon salutes with another schooner, the Californian, before mooring in the harbor.

The Lady Washington will be open to the public the next two weekends from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. It will be moored at the Orange County Marine Institute, 24200 Dana Point Harbor Drive at the north end of the marina.

The current incarnation of the Lady Washington is owned by the Grays Harbor Historical Seaport in Washington state. The ship has been visiting ports along the West Coast since September.

Named after America’s original first lady, Martha Washington, the Lady Washington set out from Boston Harbor in 1787, bound for the West Coast via the long Cape Horn route.

One year later, the Lady Washington and a larger companion vessel explored the coastline from Washington to California before setting sail for Hawaii and Japan. Maritime historians say the ship was instrumental in establishing trading routes between the nascent American colonies and the Orient, as well as the Pacific Northwest.

However, the voyage was ill-fated. Upon leaving Japan, the ship and all its crew were lost in the South China Sea.

The Lady Washington, the Californian and the Orange County Marine Institute’s Pilgrim are all involved in maritime education. Large groups of schoolchildren visit the frigates in their home ports. All have living history programs in which local sailing buffs dressed in historical nautical costumes demonstrate 19th-Century sailing techniques.

For information about the Lady Washington’s visit, call the Marine Institute at (714) 496-2274.