Ships ahoy!

Paul Clinton

NEWPORT HARBOR -- Opening a window in time, two old-time clipper ships

sailed into the harbor Tuesday as a reminder of the area’s nautical past.

Mayor Gary Adams laid out the welcome mat, presenting one of the

ships’ captains with an honorary key to Newport Beach and a plaque.

“I’d like to thank you for including us on your ports of call,” Adams

said during a brief ceremony. “It’s great to have you.”

The Hawaiian Chieftain and Lady Washington, in the midst of a

six-month educational tour of the state’s coastline, will be docked

behind the Newport Harbor Nautical Museum until Feb. 5.

During their stay, the ships and their 53-member crew will enlighten

local fourth- and fifth-graders about life on an 18th century sailing

vessel.

The ships, replicas of a square topsail ketch, will also be open to

the public. At the time of their widest usage, the vessels transported

furniture, grain and other cargo.

To Hawaiian Chieftain’s captain, Derek Esibill, the ships link the

harbor’s nautical present to a vibrant past.

“It really is a bridge between two worlds,” Esibill said. “This is

living history.

During their visit, Esibill, 29, and his scrappy crew said they would

welcome questions about their boat’s legacy and the seafaring life no

longer present outside of the world of Herman Melville.

Lumbering into the harbor Tuesday afternoon, the Lady Washington --

which measures 112 feet in length -- became tangled in a bow line and

then ran into harbor mud a few feet from the dock.

The Hawaiian Chieftain had better luck as it glided into port for a

gathered crowd of onlookers.

Driving along East Coast Highway, Linda Island resident Gary Rettig

saw the massive boats with his grandson and decided to stop in for a

look.

“He loves those boats,” Rettig said about the boy. “So we had to come

down for a peek.”

Wayne Eggleston, the nautical museum’s executive director, who

organized the visit, said the tall ships are also expected to bring

people back to the exhibits.

“This is a terrific opportunity for the museum to have these ships

here,” Eggleston said. “A lot of people think we’re still the Ruben E.

Lee” restaurant.

FYI

WHAT: Battle reenactments

WHEN: 2 to 5 p.m. Saturday, Sunday, Feb. 3 and 4

INFO: (800) 200-5239 or (949) 673-7863