Hawaiian Chieftain docks in Newport Beach

With its sails unfurled and a few cannon blasts, the tall ship Hawaiian Chieftain docked in Newport Beach on Wednesday after a roughly 300-mile, three-day voyage from Santa Cruz.

A few spectators gathered at the Newport Sea Base to watch the 103-foot topsail ketch slowly emerge from the gray drizzle that hung over Newport Harbor Wednesday afternoon, chugging up the bay on motor power before making a U-turn to dock at the Sea Base.

A reproduction of a typical European cargo ship of the 19th century, the Hawaiian Chieftain will be in Newport Beach through Jan. 10, offering tours and sailing trips.

The ship gives visitors a first-hand glimpse of what life was like aboard a real 19th-century sailing vessel, Hawaiian Chieftain Captain Rob Mitzer said.

“People can learn a lot by coming aboard the ship and talking to the sailors, hearing their stories and learning about what a ship like this was used for,” Mitzer said.

The trek from Santa Cruz was a homecoming of sorts for Hawaiian Chieftain first mate Kyle Watson, 25, who grew up in Fountain Valley.

Watson learned to sail at the Newport Sea Base in a small, sabot sailboat when he was 11.

Now he makes a full-time career out of sailing tall ships, traveling between sailing gigs on the West and East Coast.

“I love it, they’re like giant toys, like a giant kite,” Watson said.

The living quarters on board the Hawaiian Chieftain are cramped for its 12 crew members, but much better than what 19th century seafarers would have had to endure, Watson said.

The ship has a shower, a real stove, and a professional cook, even a stereo system.

“You can crank it up and rock out if you want,” Watson said.

Unlike real 19th century sailing ships, the Hawaiian Chieftain has a steel hull and is equipped with twin, 235-horsepower Volvo diesel engines.

The ship was built in Hawaii in 1988 and designed to carry cargo in the Hawaiian Islands. The hull and rigging of the ship are similar to those of the ships of Spanish explorers who sailed along the West Coast in the late 18th Century.

The Hawaiian Chieftain hails from Aberdeen, Wash., and travels up and down the West Coast each year, from Puget Sound to San Diego. This year, the ship will head North again from Newport Beach to Oxnard, before sailing back to Washington.