Tall Ships to Offer Public Harbor Tours

Two tall ships, replicas of 18th century merchant vessels, will sail into Ventura Harbor for 11 days starting Monday as part of a California coastal tour.

The ships, the Hawaiian Chieftain and the Lady Washington, are offering various educational programs at ports from San Francisco to San Diego, hoping to teach students what life was like aboard a traditional sailing vessel. The tours are also open to the public.

“From raising sails by hand with shipmates, to practicing navigation skills that keep the vessels on course, students will learn firsthand how coastal explorers, sailors and traders lived their lives in the late 1700s,” the organizers of the tour said in a news release.

The Sausalito-based Hawaiian Chieftain was built in the style of a 1790s sailing vessel on the island of Maui. With the exception of concessions such as use of modern materials and construction methods to improve safety, strength and durability, the 103-foot ship is true to its heritage, with more than 90 sail-control lines to be worked by hand.

The goodwill ambassador to the state of Washington, the Lady Washington is a faithful replica of the first American ship to round Cape Horn and land in the Pacific Northwest. Built of old-growth Douglas fir using traditional methods, the ship is 112 feet long and traditionally square-rigged.

Since its launch in 1989 as part of a state centennial project, the Lady Washington has stopped at ports from Southern California to Alaska. Its home port is Grays Harbor, Wash.

Three-hour educational voyages are available for $25 per person, based on a 30-person minimum.

One-hour dockside programs are also available for $5 per person. There will also be public sails and dockside tours.

For more information, call (800) 356-2972.