Tall Ships

The tall ships dueling off the coast of Dana Point were only supposed to look like they were at war. But after the cannon aboard the tall ship Amazing Grace rumbled, the stinging pain that Donna Reed felt in her legs was quite real. "It was like a scene from 'The Exorcist,' " said Reed, her wounds still sore days later. "I started to bleed in several different areas. " She had been shot. So it went during what was supposed to be a climactic moment in the Ocean Institute's annual tall ships festival: the Saturday evening mock cannon fight that would simulate the spectacle of a historic battle on the high seas.

PORTSMOUTH, Va. - The ship's engineer was seasick and spitting up his medication. A deckhand had been tossed past the mainmast, breaking three ribs. The captain had been slammed against a cabin table, wrenching his back. He could barely walk. Capt. Robin Walbridge, sailing the tall ship Bounty from Connecticut to Florida, was trying to outflank Hurricane Sandy, which was roaring toward New York. But instead of slipping around the storm, the ship had crossed directly into Sandy's path.

A rare opportunity to see half a dozen majestic sailing vessels--drifting down the coast like ghosts from another century--awaits Orange County residents this weekend as a tall ships parade, celebrating the county's centennial, winds its way from Seal Beach to Dana Point Harbor. Leading the parade, which begins today at 2 p.m.

The 160-ton schooner rocked in the choppy waters at the mouth of the Channel Islands Harbor, and Donna Reed swung on her high-heeled cowgirl boots between ropes that dangled like vines, untying the cords that bound the sails to masts as thick as utility poles. Reed swung again as the sails unfurled, balancing the soles of her boots on a rope several feet above the deck. Her movements were quick and precise, as if she were an old pro. Yet not even a year ago, the 33-year-old was living in landlocked Columbia, S.C., working as a real estate agent and hosting a political talk show that aired on radio stations across the state.

The historic tall ships Hawaiian Chieftain and Lady Washington will arrive at Channel Islands Harbor on Feb. 6 for a weeklong stay. The vessels will offer dockside programs, educational voyages and battle reenactments. Free public tours of the ships will be offered from 3 to 6 p.m. on arrival day. After that, they will cost $3 for general admission, $2 for senior citizens and students, $1 for children under 12 and $7 for families. Tours will be offered Feb. 7-8 and 11-12 from 4 to 6 p.m.

Perhaps the best view Sunday of the tall ships motoring into Dana Point Harbor was on the sun deck at Michael's Supper Club. Until the cannon went off. "The cannon scared the pants off of us," muttered a still-shaken Doug McKenzie, 28. "We dropped our cocktails." And with that he, his wife, Michelle, and two friends hoisted their Irish coffees and cheered Pilgrim II. "I raised my red flag and waved," Michelle McKenzie giggled. "Here come the boys."

Four million visitors are expected in Amsterdam in August to take part in "Sail Amsterdam," the world's largest gathering of tall ships. The event, held every five years, takes place Aug. 9-14 and will feature more than 1,000 sailing vessels from around the world. Not all of them, naturally, are tall ships. The weeklong program begins with a "Parade of Sail" on Aug. 9 through the North Sea canal. The parade will be led by a replica of an 18th-Century East Indiaman.

The second annual Tall Ships Chicago, which drew more than 500,000 visitors when it debuted in 1998, will return to the Windy City over Labor Day weekend. Seven tall ships from the U.S., Canada and the British Virgin Islands will sail into Navy Pier on the afternoon of Aug. 31 and be available for tours ($5 per person) through Sept. 4. Related events will include daytime music and dance performances; nighttime concerts Aug. 31 and Sept. 3 ($15-$17.50); and fireworks each night.

What's billed as the largest gathering of tall ships in British Columbia in a century will be held Aug. 8 to 12 in Richmond, which is about 20 minutes south of downtown Vancouver. More than 20 ships, mostly from the U.S. and Canada but also from as far away as New Zealand, will participate, said Richmond city spokesman Ted Townsend. Events in the five-day Richmond Tall Ships Festival include a parade of sails Aug. 8; an art and food fair; and music on five stages.

If predictions hold, it will dwarf the Spanish Armada, the Normandy invasion fleet and every regatta ever held--as many as 70,000 watercraft jammed into New York Harbor for what organizers call the "largest maritime event in history." At the center of the weeklong affair beginning July 3 is Operation Sail 2000, the latest gathering of wind-powered "tall ships."

The Coast Guard said Monday it was searching for two crew members of the HMS Bounty, a three-masted tall ship that appeared in two Hollywood movies, after Hurricane Sandy sank the vessel in storm-churned waters off the coast of North Carolina. Fourteen were rescued. The Bounty began taking on water Sunday and lost power about 90 miles off Hatteras, N.C. The Coast Guard said it was using a C-130 Hercules aircraft and an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter to search the area for the two who were missing.

The tall ships dueling off the coast of Dana Point were only supposed to look like they were at war. But after the cannon aboard the tall ship Amazing Grace rumbled, the stinging pain that Donna Reed felt in her legs was quite real. "It was like a scene from 'The Exorcist,' " said Reed, her wounds still sore days later. "I started to bleed in several different areas. " She had been shot. So it went during what was supposed to be a climactic moment in the Ocean Institute's annual tall ships festival: the Saturday evening mock cannon fight that would simulate the spectacle of a historic battle on the high seas.

The USS Iowa won't open to the public until next month, but that doesn't mean you have to wait until then to see the World War II battleship. I took a 45-minute harbor cruise from San Pedro just before sunset Saturday and came within 100 yards of the ship. The views in the soft light were spectacular, and many aboard the boat oohed and ahhed at the sight of the enormous  ship in its temporary home at Berth 51. It's scheduled to move again Saturday to its more permanent location at Berth 87. Tickets are on sale now for the museum, which opens July 7 ($18 for adults; $10 for children 6 to 17)

Sailing aboard the Californian is a throwback to the era of tall ships and re-creates what 19th-century travel by sea was like. The Martitime Museum of San Diego offers three sailings to Catalina Island aboard the topsail schooner where participants take turns standing watch, setting sail and learning other on-board skills. (Yes, there's a motor so you won't be stuck in the doldrums.) But it's not all work. There'll be time to relax on board and to go kayaking in the waters off Catalina with guides and gear provided.

At dawn on the dock, a few sailors kiss spouses and dogs goodbye. Then we muster on the quarterdeck: 17 crew (nine volunteers and eight professional sailors) ranging from a 19-year-old South Carolina college student to a 76-year-old Michigan farmer. I have cruised the South Pacific, the Atlantic and the Mediterranean on the most luxurious ships afloat and have been crew on sailing and racing sailboats for decades in inland lakes, the Great Lakes and the Caribbean. As a volunteer on a tall ship, however, I knew I'd have a rare chance to learn classic skills and be part of a genuine adventure.

If "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides" left you stoked for an adventurous sailing trip (without the pillaging and scheming), you won't have to go far to find one. The Californian will set sail from San Diego to Catalina Island in July and October on trips that mix tall ship sailing with kayaking. Sleeping in snug bunks and standing watch on the ship are part of recapturing the spirit of what life was like aboard a 19th century vessel. The Californian (no, it isn't a pirate ship)

In the largest gathering of its type in the United States, a fleet of tall ships, with cannons blasting, and historic schooners will sail into Dana Point Harbor on Saturday about noon. The Tall Ships Festival will continue through Sunday with battle reenactments, tours of the ships, an art show, storytellers and more. Festival hours are Saturday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

The massive black ship proudly sailed into Dana Point Harbor on Saturday with such grace that it hushed a crowd of thousands waiting on shore. Then, without warning, a series of deafening explosions sounded from Civil War cannons fired by men in historical marine dress. It was a fitting welcome for the 130-foot Pilgrim tall ship. The cannon fire kicked off a celebration of the 16th annual Toshiba Tallships Festival.

Take to the seas for Valentine’s Day during a special sailing on a special ship. The Californian, the state 's official tall ship, will dock at the Maritime Museum of San Diego and offer a three-hour " Sweetheart Sail " on Feb. 13. Passengers aboard the Californian will have an opportunity to haul a line or staff the helm during the sailing, which will end with a cannon salute. The schooner, a replica of a Gold Rush-era vessel, was built in 1984. The Sweetheart Sail will start at 12:30 p.m. It includes a keepsake picture (taken between 10:30 a.m. and noon before the sailing)

Lifeguard Andrew Greger was making a routine training dive off the Santa Monica coast three weeks ago when something in the water caught his eye. At the bottom of the ocean, about two miles north of the Santa Monica Pier, he found a massive ship's anchor covered in rust, seaweed and sea-floor growth. Greger knew the area had been a major shipping port a century ago. But he was surprised to find the anchor in such good condition. "It's not every day you find something like that," said Greger, a rescue boat captain with the Los Angeles County Fire Department Lifeguard Division.