Two tall ship visitors to the Bay Area are spending over seven weeks in four ports hosting school children and the public for tours and excursions.
Hawaiian Chieftain under sail in San Francisco Bay during her current visit to the Bay Area. Both Lady Washington and Hawaiian Chieftain will be available for tours and sails through April 11. © jdnicholsproductions
By BC Staff
Published: March, 2016
The two ships are owned by Grays Harbor Historical Seaport Authority (GHHSA). For more than 25 years, this nonprofit has provided hands-on educational opportunities focusing on exploring our connections to the world’s oceans along with preserving our maritime history and traditions.
The two tall ships visiting the Bay Area have rich histories. Launched on March 7, 1989, the Lady Washington was built in Aberdeen, Washington by GHHSA as a full-scale replica of the original Lady Washington.
In 1787, the original Lady Washington was given a major refit to prepare her for an unprecedented trading voyage around Cape Horn. In 1788, she became the first American vessel to make landfall on the west coast of North America.
A pioneer in Pan-Pacific trade, she was the first American ship to visit Honolulu, Hong Kong and Japan. Lady Washington opened the black pearl and sandalwood trade between Hawaii and Asia when King Kamehameha of Hawaii became a partner in the ship.
The modern Lady Washington was constructed by skilled shipwrights based on historians’ extensive research into the original vessel. She was launched as part of the 1989 Washington State centennial celebration. Over the years, Lady Washington has appeared in several motion pictures and television shows, including Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, Star Trek: Generations, Once Upon a Time and Revolution.
Built of steel in Hawaii in 1988, the Hawaiian Chieftain was originally designed for cargo trade among the Hawaiian Islands. Naval architect Raymond Richards’ design for the ship was influenced by the early colonial passenger and coastal packets that traded among Atlantic coastal cities and towns.
The early packet ships were regular traders and were selected because they sailed remarkably well and could enter small ports with their shallow draft. Out of the gradual development of the Atlantic packet ship hull form came the ship design practices that helped produce some of the best of the clipper ships of the later 1850s.
In 1993, Lady Washington joined Hawaiian Chieftain for their first mock sea battle on San Francisco Bay. 1996, GHHSA formed a partnership with Central Coast Charters to continue working together. Today, the two tall ships participate in educational cruises and ambassadorial visits along the west coast throughout the year. Hawaiian Chieftain also makes solo port visits as a sail training and educational vessel.
From Jack London Square, the duo sails to Antioch’s City Marina on March 2, where they will stay until March 9. They will then travel to the Port of Redwood City, where they will reside from March 12 to March 23. The ships will finish their Bay Area visit in Sausalito from March 25 until April 11.
In each port, the ships will open for walk-on tours and offer public sailings, including the popular two-ship battle sails. The three-hour battle sails feature close quarters maneuvers with real cannons firing real gunpowder, but no cannon balls. Guests are encouraged to help operate the ship and verbally taunt the adversaries. Tickets are $75 for adults; $67 for seniors, students and active military; and $39 for children 12 and under. Most battle sails are scheduled on Saturdays and Sundays from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.
The ships will also offer two-hour adventure sails, which feature a chance for guests to help raise a sail or take the helm of a real tall ship, conditions permitting. Tickets are $47 adults and $39 for children 12 and under. Most adventure sails are scheduled at 11 a.m. Sundays, but there will also be six weekday value-priced excursions (two at each port) that begin at 4 p.m. for $35 per person.
No reservations are required for the walk-on tours, which are usually scheduled for Tuesday to Friday from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Both ships also book specially priced one-hour and three-hour educational programs for elementary school students and homeschool groups during the week.
For a detailed schedule of tours and sailings and to purchase tickets, visit www.historicalseaport.org or call (800) 200-5239.
Lady Washington fires a cannon on her companion ship, Hawaiian Chieftain, during a Battle Sail. Photo by Scott Ferguson.
Lady Washington and Hawaiian Chieftain trade broadsides during a mock sea battle. Photo by Tomas Hyde
