Tall ships bedazzle spectators

Captain Lawrence Baum sails alongside the Hawaiian Chieftain (top) last Monday. The crews of the Chieftain (center) and The Lady Washington, the state’s official ship (bottom), are touring Puget Sound this summer. The Lady Washington and Hawaiian Chieftain cruised around the south tip of Whidbey Island and into Cama Beach State Park last Monday, square sails stretched tight with wind and graceful bows cutting a white line in the rich blue water.

The ships belong to the Grays Harbor Historical Seaport (GHHS), and cruise the waters off Washington as “ambassadors of goodwill.”

Lady Washington has sailed under the title of “the official ship of the state of Washington” since 2007, when state legislature passed a bill designating it as such.

Built in Aberdeen, and launched in 1989, the wood ship is a full-scale reproduction of the original Lady Washington, which was built in the British colony of Massachusetts in the 1750s and freighted among colonies on the Eastern seaboard until the American Revolution, when she was employed as a privateer.

PHOTOS BY JEREMIAH O’HAGAN | STANWOOD/CAMANO NEWS After the war, she was fitted for the first trading voyage around Cape Horn, and in 1788 became the first American vessel to land on the west coast of North America. She was also the first American ship to visit Hong Kong, Japan, and Honolulu.

Hawaiian Chieftain was built in Hawaii in 1988, and is styled after a typical European trading ship at the turn of the 19th century.

Built of steel, not wood, the ship is actually quite modern, and was designed for trade among the Hawaiian Islands. GHHS purchased the ship in 2004, and it now sails with Lady Washington from port to port, offering dockside tours and reenacting battles.

One of these mock battles was scheduled to occur off Cama, but choppy waters didn’t allow for ferrying passengers out to the ships, and after putting on a sailing show near the beach, they tacked to the southeast and set a course for Everett, where they’ll be on display through tomorrow, June 2.

On Thursday, the ships will sail to Edmonds, where they’ll be on display June 4-13. Dockside tours are available at both locations, and tickets are available for “Battle Sails,” as well.

The ships are scheduled to appear at Cama Beach again August 12, on their return voyage.

For more information about the tall ships, dockside tours, or booking a Battle Tour, visit www.historicalseaport. org/web/index.html.

Special thanks to Lawrence Baum, of Camano Sail and Power, LLC, for allowing NEWS staff to join him on his 33-foot Hobie sailboat for a unique photo opportunity.

Staff Reporter Jeremiah O’Hagan: 629-8066 ext. 125 or ohagan@scnews.com.