Tall ship to set ‘sale’ for eBay

The Argus, a 101-year-old tall ship that’s been a popular fixture at the Newport Sea Base for 35 years, will be put up for sale on eBay this week, officials said Monday.

The Orange County Council of the Boy Scouts of America operates the sea base and owns the ship.

Boy Scout officials decided last week to try to sell the Argus after learning in January that it would need as much as $1.5 million in repairs to keep taking paying passengers.

The ship, a 92-foot topsail ketch, was built in 1905 in Denmark as a work boat that hauled grain and lumber. Around 1970, the Boy Scouts bought the Argus for $40,000 and spent another $10,000 bringing it up to U.S. Coast Guard standards.

A Coast Guard inspection in January showed some of the wood-hulled ship’s planks are rotted and that it would need major repairs to remain the Boy Scouts’ training ship.

After deliberating for several months, officials decided to put the Argus up for sale. Boy Scout spokeswoman Lara Fisher said Monday no minimum sale price has been set.

If the ship were to be used as a private vessel, the pricey repairs would not be required.

Although thousands of kids have learned to sail on the Argus and people love the ship, the top priority for sea base officials is continuing the sailing programs, sea base director Charlie Abbott said.

About 30 trips on Argus were scheduled between late March and early November, and all but 12 have been canceled while officials look for a replacement ship, Abbott said. Several possibilities have fallen through, but Fisher said Boy Scout leaders hope to finalize a lease this week for a sailboat.

Selling Argus will be hard, said Nickolas Silkebakken, who has worked on the ship for more than six years in roles ranging from deckhand and cook to captain.

“You develop a personal relationship with a boat. It’s almost like a girlfriend,” he said.

Silkebakken said ideally he’d like to see the Boy Scouts order a custom-built ship, which could cost up to $2.5 million. Having a ship built to suit its needs would allow the sea base to expand the sailing program, he said.

Since word got out about the Argus’ condition, the community has responded with offers of money, but it hasn’t been enough, Abbott said.

“People say, ‘I’ll give you a hundred bucks’; people say, ‘I’ll give you a thousand bucks’ ? but we need a thousand bucks a thousand times,” he said.

With Argus up for auction, it’s possible that someone will buy the ship, fix it up and lease it back to the Boy Scouts, Abbott said.

“We have tried every avenue to try and come up with the funds and the ideas to make this program continue, and we’re still doing that,” he said.dpt.argus-2-CPhotoInfo8V1QVQM120060516imiyycncMARK C. DUSTIN / DAILY PILOT(LA)Kim Lusenhop and Knowlton Shore look at one of the Argus’ masts before last year’s tall ships festival in Dana Point. dpt.16-argus-1-BPhotoInfo8V1QVQPL20060516ili9e9ncDON LEACHArgus, which calls Newport Harbor home, turned 101 this year.