Tall Ships Recall State’s Past and Moor

A parade of tall ships, their canvas sails snapping loudly in the wind, glided gracefully down the coast Friday, welcomed by cheers from hundreds of spectators perched on bluffs and other vantage points to catch a glimpse of California’s maritime past.

Billed as Sail California 1999, the 14 ships that sailed in review were the biggest gathering of tall ships on the Pacific Coast this century, organizers said. The square-rigged vessels represented five foreign countries and included the Californian, the state’s official tall ship.

The vessels represent the navies of Canada, Colombia, Ecuador, Indonesia and Japan and are used to train navy cadets. The Colombian, Ecuadorean and Indonesian ships berthed at the Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station, while the others docked at Long Beach’s Rainbow Harbor.

Volunteers at the International Seafarers Center in Long Beach, who helped organize the event, were thrilled.

“It was a beautiful sight. The ships and the people who came to see them. The Seal Beach and Belmont piers were packed with ship lovers,” said a volunteer at the center.

The throngs jockeyed for position on the bluffs in Long Beach, by the Queen Mary and along the harbors where the ships docked.

The Parade of Sail began at noon, as the ships, escorted by Coast Guard and other vessels, sailed past the Queen Mary, out to sea and down the coast to the Seal Beach Pier, where the procession ended. Afterward, the three largest ships were guided to their berths in Seal Beach and 11 returned to anchor or berth in Long Beach at Rainbow Harbor.

Capt. Thomas Bernitt, commander of the Seal Beach Navy base, said the event was “a great opportunity for both the crews of these beautiful ships and Southern California to experience something new.”

Sail California 1999 is a monthlong event planned for California’s Sesquicentennial celebrations. The tall ships began their voyage July 3 in San Francisco and will sail for San Diego after their weekend visit here.

The public is invited to visit the ships docked at Seal Beach today and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. without charge. Access to the ships will be available only through the base’s Liberty Gate on Seal Beach Boulevard, one block south from Pacific Coast Highway.

The ships docked at Long Beach also will be available for public tours today and Sunday without charge during the same hours. Visitors also can take three-hour sea excursions at a cost of $45 per person on three of the tall ships docked at Long Beach.

Information: (562) 432-7560 or (800) 432-2201.

Visiors’ Guide to Vessels

Square-rigged sailing vessels from around the world will dock in Seal Beach and Long Beach this weekend to host visitors as part of a month-long sailing celebration originally planned to mark California’s Sesquicentennial. Free parking and tours are offered today and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Seal Beach: Three of largest tall ships berth in Anaheim Bay

Long Beach: Eleven smaller tall ships berth in Rainbow Harbor

Mock Battle: In Long Beach, three of the tall ships will take passengers on three-hour excursions. Cost: $45 per person. For more information, call (800) 432-2201

Ships in Seal Beach:

Guayas

257 feet

Bark

*

Gloria

249 feet

Bark

*

Dewa Ruci

191 feet

Barkentine

Source: International Seafarers Center of Long Beach

Graphics reporting by BRADY MacDONALD / Los Angeles Times