Navigating Unfamiliar Waters

Budding marine biologists and youthful adventurers dropped their sleeping bags aboard the three-masted Tole Mour on Tuesday morning, preparing for a confidence-building odyssey around the Channel Islands.

On a foggy day, 30 students and five teachers from Oxnard’s Santa Clara High School surveyed the complex web of rigging and squat cabins aboard the 156-foot-long ship with some trepidation. For the next three days, they will sail the largest working tall ship on the West Coast. They will navigate by starlight and snorkel through kelp forests.

Trip organizers also hoped that new interests would be sparked and personal baggage left behind.

As students and parents toured the ship, the 15-member crew issued its list of no-nos: no climbing the rigging, no sitting on the rails, no standing in the bow of the ship and no chewing gum.

Cell phones and pagers also were ordered off a boat more enamored of compasses and star charts.

As one sophomore fretted over possible shark attacks off the Channel Islands, a parent worried that the ship might lose contact with the outside world.

But Principal Martin Young, who was staying ashore, seemed gleeful.

“When I heard the ship was coming, I called and asked for all 30 slots,” Young said. “This is something that will really stick with the kids.”

Students, freshmen to seniors, paid $75 each for the trip. Spots were awarded on a first come, first served basis. During the journey, the teens will take part in “watches” that include sail handling; steering and navigating; and deploying scientific equipment.

The Tole Mour, which sleeps 49, was built in 1988 to deliver medical care and supplies to residents of the Marshall Islands, about 6,000 miles west of Hawaii. Tole Mour means “Gift of Life and Health” in the language of the Marshall Islanders.

After the Marshall Islands government began providing medical care, managers of the San Pedro-based ship decided to offer educational adventures for students.

They hope the ship will make regular stops in Ventura County, said Larry Janss, a Thousand Oaks developer and president of the School of the Pacific Islands Foundation, which works with the Tole Mour. The foundation provides grants and training for Pacific Islanders.

When the students arrived at Ventura Harbor on Tuesday, they seemed stunned by the size and majesty of the ship, with its cobweb of ropes, and black masts soaring into the air.

“This will be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” said Angelica Anj, 15. “It’s a chance to get out of school and have fun and learn. I’m frightened by sharks, but I will get in the water anyway.”

While Christopher Mattey, 15, also was looking forward to examining the sea life around the islands, Julie Smedley was more interested in working with others.

“I think we’ll all learn to work better as a team after this,” said Julie, also 15.

Before hoisting anchor, Capt. Wayne Chimenti said the journey was about self-awareness and overcoming limitations.

“This is your home for the next few days,” he said. “This will be a whole new way of life for you. . . . This is the chance to be the person you want to be.”

At the very least, he said, students could be good shipmates by being kind to one another.

The Tole Mour’s visit is being sponsored by the Ventura County Maritime Museum in Oxnard.

As the ship pulled away, the students’ parents looked on with mixed emotions.

Craig Mattey said his son is interested in all things nautical--and his family has a special connection with marine biology.

“Christopher’s grandfather was the special effects guy who did the work on ‘Jaws,’ ” Mattey said. “He made the shark.”

Tom Scott was torn by feelings of excitement for his 13-year-old daughter, Cynthia, and wariness as she headed into the fog on a ship steered by strangers.

“We have no contact with our children for three days,” Scott said.

“But it’s a risk you have to take as a parent to allow your children to grow. I think she’ll return more independent.”