Sea Towers

Two historic tall ships are scheduled to arrive at Channel Islands Harbor today for a 10-day stay as part of the fifth annual Voyages of Rediscovery Winter Tour.

Costumed crew members of the Hawaiian Chieftain and Lady Washington will offer tours, classes, sailing lessons and battle reenactments.

Tours--today from 3 to 6 p.m.--will depict the life of 18th century sailors, but it will be a somewhat romanticized slice of the past.

In the book “George Washington’s War,” military historian Robert Leckie described the lot of British seamen more than 200 years ago: “Their [poor] diet made them the victim of scurvy and dysentery, and thus susceptible to every kind of contagious infection. Nor could an inexhaustible issue of grog ever compensate for a miserable existence . . . in stinking, rat-infested holds so far below the waterline that there was no hope of rescue should the ship founder in a storm.”

Today’s crews, however, will depict a mariner’s life characterized by teamwork and cooperation, giving visitors an appreciation for the skills involved in sailing and a glimpse of California history.

Each ship is operated by a crew of about 10, with each member generally signing on for four- to six-month stints. They are costumed basically as merchant seamen.

The two ships are spending the winter sailing the coast from the Bay Area to San Diego.

It will be the vessels’ first stop in Channel Islands Harbor, because the channel leading to their usual port of call, Ventura Harbor, is being dredged to remove 3 to 6 feet of silt, sand and mud. Some parts of the channel had not been dredged for more than a dozen years, and five squid boats ran aground in a two-month period last fall.

Lynn McFarlane, spokeswoman for the Voyages of Rediscovery, which operates the Hawaiian Chieftain and Lady Washington, discussed the ships’ itinerary during their two-week layover.

“During the week, it’s mostly schoolkids, and on the weekends, we have battle reenactments,” she said. “We offer daily public tours in the late afternoons. We’ve been doing this for eight or nine years, and the focus has always been educating the youth.”

McFarlane said the program has evolved over the years to concentrate on the voyages that early explorers took in the late 1700s along the California coastline and trade between the Spanish and the Native Americans.

Dockside tours, which include a walk through the quarters below deck, are given from 4 to 6 p.m. weekdays, and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. For the more adventurous, weekend sailing excursions and battle reenactments are offered, either as participants or spectators.

During the mock battles, each ship fires its cannons (but no cannonballs) to simulate the sights and sounds of combat.

The Hawaiian Chieftain is a replica of an 18th century, square-rigged European trading vessel--103 feet long with a 75-foot main mast and 4,200 square feet of sail. Launched in 1988 in Maui, the ship took its maiden voyage to Tahiti. Weighing 64 tons, its draft is only 6 feet, making the ship highly maneuverable in shallow waters. More than 37,000 students have toured the vessel, now based in Sausalito, the last four years.

The Lady Washington is an exact replica of the first American ship to round Cape Horn and dock in the Pacific Northwest. The ship is 112 feet long and made of Douglas fir. The vessel was launched in 1989 in Aberdeen, Wash., as part of that state’s centennial celebration.

Lady Washington is intended to commemorate the voyages of Capts. Robert Gray and John Kendrick. Gray was at the helm when the ship left Boston in 1787 and eventually made it to the Pacific Northwest. Kendrick was captain when the vessel engaged in fur trade in Macao and when it became the first American vessel to land in Japan, in 1791. The ship was also featured in the 1994 film “Star Trek Generations.”

DETAILS

Voyages of Rediscovery Winter Tour at Channel Islands Harbor, Oxnard, today through Feb. 25. Tours range from $1 to $4, and battle reenactments from $20 to $40. 382-3012.

Bill Locey can be reached at blocey@pacbell.net.