Hawaiian Chieftain docked in Antioch until Tuesday
By Donna Beth Weilenman
Staff Reporter
After a two-month stay in Sacramento, where its crew shared stories about the history of tall ships, the Hawaiian Chieftain has arrived in Antioch, where visitors not only can walk aboard its deck, they can experience firsthand what it’s like to travel on a topsail ketch like those that traversed the oceans 300 years ago.
Like its sister ship, the Lady Washington, the Hawaiian Chieftain is a replica vessel, built to resemble the sail-powered craft that traveled the oceans in the 18th century.
Both are owned by Grays Harbor Historical Seaport Authority, a nonprofit organization based in Washington state.
The current Lady Washington, which visited the Bay Area earlier this year, is the reproduction of a specific ship that served in the Revolutionary War and then became the first American-flagged ship to enter the Pacific Ocean.
The Hawaiian Chieftain has a far different history, according to its owners.
The ship was commissioned by Laurence H. Dorcy Jr., designed by Raymond Richards, a nautical architect, and built of steel at Lahaina Welding Company, Maui, Hawaii, in 1988.
Morgan Davies handled the master lofting and welding, and its lead shipwright was Drake Thomas.
Richards’s design is his interpretation of the typical early 19th century South Seas trading vessel.
He blended the rig of a 19th-century trader with a modern triple keel and shallow draft hull that draws less than 6 feet.
The two-masted tall ship resembles a typical European merchant trader used at the turn of the 19th century, and its hull shape and rigging is similar to the ships used by Spanish explorers in the late 18th century when they traveled along the Washington, Oregon and California coasts.
In addition, its design was influenced by that of early colonial passenger ships and the trading packets that visited Atlantic coastside cities and towns.
In earlier years of maritime travel, ships sailed when they had enough cargo and passengers to justify a voyage. People could wait for weeks before a ship was ready to leave its harbor.
After the War of 1812, ship owners started trying to operate under a schedule, creating the packet ship trade.
While driven by mercantile activity, the ships also had passengers. The wealthy had cabins; others traveled in the steerage below decks.
Coastal packet service ships needed to sail well and enter small ports, so shallow draft designs were ideal. Those designs later inspired the clipper ships that began to be built in the 1850s.
More than 100 feet long and having a 22-foot beam, the Hawaiian Chieftain is an auxiliary gaff-rigged topsail ketch that can cruise 2,000 miles at 7 knots, though it can achieve a speed of 10 knots. The taller of the two masts is 75 feet.
For years, the Hawaiian Chieftain was based in Sausalito, where it was a participant in the Voyages of ReDiscovery, a hands-on history program that taught elementary school children about West Coast exploration and trade in the 1790s.
The vessel was sold in 2004 to a Cape Cod program. The new owner changed the ship’s name to the Spirit of Larinda.
When the program’s owner died, the ship was inactive for a year, until it was bought by Grays Harbor Historical Seaport Authority.
That organization restored the ship’s original name, Hawaiian Chieftain, and began using the vessel in its joint educational and sail training program up and down the North American West Coast.
The Hawaiian Chieftain visits more than 50 ports each year and gives living history education programs to children in grades from kindergarten through high school, including those who are home schooled. It also educates the general public and service organizations about the history of sailing and tall ships.
The ship arrived in Antioch City Marina on Dec. 10, and will remain there until Tuesday.
The Antioch marina is at the foot of L Street at 5 Marina Plaza, Antioch.
There is no reservation needed for walk-on tours, which take place from 4-5 p.m. daily through Friday, and again Tuesday. Walk-on tour hours are 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Donations of $3 per person are requested.
Reservations are needed, however, for the Adventure Sail, 2-5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Cost of that trip is $39, and tickets are available through the Grays Harbor Historical Seaport website, or by calling the association at 800-200-5239.
That three-hour sail is a family-oriented experience that lets visitors learn a sea shanty, hear maritime stories, raise a sail and possibly take the wheel of the ship, depending on conditions.
Title I public schools, those with at least 40 percent of students receiving free or reduced-price lunches, are eligible for scholarships that reduce the cost of the children’s educational programs.
The ship leaves Antioch on Wednesday, Dec. 19, for San Pedro, and will pass Benicia as it heads out the Golden Gate for the Pacific Ocean.
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