8 Youths Off on a Sailing Adventure : They’ll Learn the Mysteries of Handling a Wooden Ship of Old

The Californian, a 145-foot schooner modeled after the revenue cutters of more than a century ago, sailed from Dana Point Tuesday, bound for Catalina Island on a cruise which will, for the first time, see her doing what she was built to do.

She has on board, in addition to the regular crew of eight, eight young people who, at the end of an 11-day training cruise, will know what life was like on the wooden ships of old.

“This is what we designed the boat to do,” said Steve Christman of the Nautical Heritage Society of Dana Point. “After all the hoopla at her launching last year, her good-will cruises up and down the coast, and the ceremonies last weekend when her figurehead was dedicated, now she is making her first official cadet-training cruise. Now she is starting her working life.”

Departure Delayed

The cadets, ranging in age from 15 to 21 and most of them members of Sea Explorer Unit 936, boarded the tall ship Monday while she was anchored in the west end of Dana Point Harbor. Capt. Ralph (Buck) Buchan assigned them to hammocks, divided them into watches and gave them manuals.

Departure was delayed when trouble developed in the main galley stove, which is used not only for cooking but to provide some warmth in the big cabin shared by the cadets--an important consideration as squally winds drove cold rain across the decks late Monday and early Tuesday, and forecasts indicated chilly weather for several days to come.

Stove repairs were completed Tuesday and the Californian was on her way.

In the course of their cruise, the cadets will be taught the basic theories of sailing, marlinspike seamanship (knots and splices), rudiments of coastal navigation, safety at sea, and some meteorology and oceanography.

Half of the Crew

The cadets are Kevin Mullen, Jennifer Ossandon, Billy Moyer, Pat O’Neal, Adam Harju, Paul Erikson, Susan Armes and Pip Allen.

Christman said the Californian, after spending several days and nights at Catalina, will sail to San Diego to take part in ceremonies Saturday welcoming the cruise ship, Pacific Princess, to her permanent berth there.

When the Californian returns to Dana Point late next week, the cadets will be rated as deckhands or as able seamen and later may qualify to serve as full-fledged crew members on future cruises by the Californian.

The Californian is the first sail-training vessel to operate on the California coast, Christman said, and is a representative of the American Sail Training Assn.

The ship is modeled after the Campbell, sister ship to the U.S. Revenue Cutter Lawrence that kept order in San Francisco Bay during the 1849 Gold Rush. Although the Lawrence’s plans have been lost, Melbourne Smith, master shipbuilder and designer, did all of the Californian’s design work and oversaw her construction.