The Tall Ship Hawaiian Chieftain will be in Noyo Harbor April 10-13 2014, giving area residents and out-of-town visitors the rare opportunity to glimpse the kind of ship that plied our coast in days gone by. It will berth at Silvers at the Wharf restaurant, 32260 North Harbor Dr., Fort Bragg.
Dockside Walk-On Tours
Walk-on tours feature crew in period costumes. The public is welcome to explore the ships and speak to crewmembers about how 18th Century mariners explored the California Coast. A $3 donation per person is appreciated. Reservations are not required.
Walk-on ship tours are scheduled as follows:
Thursday, April 10 and Friday April 11: 4 pm to 5 pm
Saturday, April12 and Sunday April13: 10 am to 1 pm
Adventure Sails Sold Out — But Tickets May Become Available
Adventure Sails, scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, 2-4 pm, are a chance to sail on a real tall ship, with demonstrations of tall ship handling. It’s a fun chance to help raise a sail and learn a sea shanty.
Currently no tickets are available for the April 12 and 13 Adventure Sails. Some tickets may become available as the ship’s arrival date nears. Guests interested in an Adventure Sail should check the Historical Seaport website for availability.
K-12 Education Programs Scheduled
The Hawaiian Chieftain has also scheduled a number of one-hour and three-hour K-12 education programs on April 10 and 11 for schools in Fort Bragg, Ukiah, Point Arena, and Rohnert Park.
Interactive Underwater Program
The Mendocino Coast Recreation and Park District‘s “Interactive Underwater Program” will perform its inaugural public dive near the Hawaiian Chieftain during Saturday and Sunday’s walk-on tours. Divers will stream live video and audio feeds to monitors on dry land for guests to view.
Some Background On The Hawaiian Chieftain
Built of steel in Hawaii in 1988 and originally designed for cargo trade among the Hawaiian Islands, naval architect Raymond H. Richards’ design for Hawaiian Chieftain was influenced by the early colonial passenger and coastal packets that traded among Atlantic coastal cities and towns. The coastal packet service was part of the coasting trade based on mercantile activity of the developing seaboard 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.
Hawaiian Chieftain was commissioned by Laurence H. “Baron” Dorcy, Jr., and constructed by Drake Thomas, owner of Lahaina Welding Co., Ltd. on the island of Maui.