Student casts off for Hawaii

Marisa O’Neil

Before Wednesday morning, Back Bay High School junior Jorge Alvarez

had been out to sea only once -- on a whale-watching trip in the

third grade.

Now, the 17-year-old is part of a crew sailing a replica 1812 ship

on a roughly two-week voyage to Hawaii. He and four other students

will be swabbing decks, hoisting sails, keeping an eye on the seas

and learning about history while they bond on the high seas.

“I’m looking forward to learning everything and teaching people

about my experience,” Jorge said. “It’s not something you do every

day, sailing from Newport Beach to Hawaii.”

The Lido Junior Sailing Foundation is sponsoring Jorge’s trip,

which would usually cost $2,800. Capt. Rick Barbarossa, director of

operations for the Defense of Freedom Foundation, which operates the

Lynx, said they wanted to offer the trip to someone who would

otherwise never have the chance to sail to Hawaii.

The Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce Education Committee

contacted Back Bay High School to find a student who would be willing

to take on the challenge. Career center job coach Anne Younglove said

she knew that Jorge -- who has turned his life around since coming to

the alternative school -- was the one to pick.

“Jorge’s name kept coming up,” she said. “It’s his attitude,

involvement in school, attendance, grades. He’s a real contributor.”

Jorge will be journaling his experiences on the boat to share with

other students in the fall, Younglove said. Those will include

four-hour watches -- including one from midnight to 4 a.m. -- as well

as swabbing decks, hoisting sails and even climbing to the top of a

90-foot-high mast.

The ship is a close replica of one used to defend American seas

against the British during the War of 1812, said Woodson K. Woods,

executive director for the Lynx. While it does have some modern

necessities like navigation systems, sailing on it isn’t too far off

from an authentic experience.

“This is one of the greatest educational experiences of a

lifetime,” Woods said. “They’ll learn history, mathematics through

navigation, and they’ll learn to drop the ‘I.’ This is a crew of

‘We.’”

The crew’s first assignment Wednesday morning before setting sail

was stowing the ship’s four carronades, or small cannons.

Below deck, students and the nine crew members staked their claims

on bunks, little curtained cubbyholes around a wood-paneled dining

area. Food and provisions filled nearly every available space and

hidden storage area, ready for the long trip.

And Jorge, too, was ready for his first sailing expedition, lest

the seas get too rough.

“I’ve got some [motion sickness] pills, and I’ve got the patches,”

he said.

The Lynx is expected to arrive in Hawaii about July 1. Students

will fly back on July 10.