Board the tall ships at the Port of Ilwaco

Published 2:37 am Monday, June 24, 2013

ILWACO, Wash. The brig Lady Washington, the official ship of Washington state, and the topsail ketch Hawaiian Chieftain will sail into the Port of Ilwaco and stay in port Thursday to Sunday, June 27 to 30.

Come aboard the Lady Washington and/or Hawaiian Chieftain for a self-guided tour of each ship 10 a.m. each day. Crew will be on hand in period costume to answer questions and tell stories. Tickets are not necessary, but a $3 donation per person is appreciated.

Three-hour, family-oriented Adventure Sails will run from 2 to 5 p.m. each day. Help raise a sail, learn a sea shanty and take the helm of a real tall ship, conditions permitting. Tickets are $39 for all ages.

Three-hour Evening Sails are sunset excursions similar to Adventure Sails; they run 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday and Friday. Thursdays excursion costs $29 for all ages; Fridays costs $39.

Three-hour Battle Sails, featuring real cannons firing real gunpowder (but no cannon balls) will run 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Tickets are $60 adults, $50 students/seniors/active military, and $40 children age 12 and under.

Excursions and times are subject to change. For specific dates and times, visit the Public Sail Schedule on the Historical Seaport website, www.historicalseaport.org

To purchase tickets, call 800-200-5239 or visit www.historicalseaport.org

The two tall ships are concluding a seven-week tour of the Oregon Coast and Columbia River that included 11 ports in Washington and Oregon. The ships last conducted a similar tour in 2009.

The ships are marking the 225th anniversary of the first landfall by a U.S.-flagged vessel on the shores of what would later become Oregon. On Aug. 14, 1788, the original Lady Washington, sailing from Boston around Cape Horn to what would later be known as Vancouver Island in Canada, made its first landing at the body of water now called Tillamook Bay. The stop was part of a fur-trading expedition led by Captain Robert Gray, who would later discover the mouth of the Columbia River and give his name to Grays Harbor, the home port of the modern Lady Washington.