A Merry Time Over Maritime Heritage

Canons blazed, parrots squawked and bearded men fought with swords on the decks of wooden ships Saturday at Dana Point Harbor.

It was all part of Dana Point’s colorful 21st Toshiba Tall Ships Festival, an annual ode to the city’s past.

“It’s a celebration of our maritime heritage,” said Daniel Stetson, president of the Ocean Institute, a local nonprofit educational facility that sponsors the two-day event. “It’s important for all of us to appreciate the contributions of our ancestors. We have a great history and there are many who contributed greatly to our way of life.”

The most famous of them was Richard Henry Dana Jr., the city’s namesake. Dana came from Boston in 1835 as a young seaman aboard the Pilgrim, a two-masted sailing brig. Five years later, he immortalized the trip in his adventure book, “Two Years Before the Mast.”

“You look around and see nothing but new homes on the cliffs,” Stetson said. “We don’t have the same feel for history that some other parts of the country do, and we would like to change that.”

The festival is part of that effort. The institute owns and operates two tall sailing ships: a 118-foot topsail schooner replicating an American Revolution-era privateer, and a 130-foot replica of the Pilgrim. Every September, the vessels are joined by a fleet of other tall wooden ships from around the world that sail in Friday night for the weekend festivities. This year eight of them came, including one from Bermuda.

Stetson expected the event to draw up to 15,000 people through today.

Most of the visitors Saturday wandered among booths offering such items as pirate hats and art pieces made of knots. A makeshift stage featured hula dancers and men singing sailor songs. It costs $8 to tour the tall ships and $55 to ride one into the harbor for the evening’s enactment of a naval battle complete with blasting canons. But this year’s new attraction was free -- a staged sword fight on the deck of the Pilgrim.

“It kind of puts you in a good mood,” said Richard Cimino, 55, of San Clemente who comes every year. “It’s a perfect day.”