Features | SignOnSanDiego.com | The San Diego Union-Tribune -- The call of the canvas

Festival of Sail 2008
When: 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday
Where: The Maritime Museum of San Diego, Harbor Drive between Ash and Grape streets, downtown
Tickets: $15 to $20 for a “passport” to board ships and for entry to some festival activities; additional fees of $5 to $99 for on-the-water excursions.
Phone: (619) 234-9153
Online: sdmaritime.org
On Wednesday, 15 of these iconic vessels will sail into San Diego Bay in a majestic parade before tying up along the Embarcadero. It's all part of the Maritime Museum of San Diego's 2008 Festival of Sail, which will continue through Aug. 24, and visitors can buy a “passport” (ticket) to board the ships for a glimpse of a lifestyle that has largely vanished. The passports are good through Dec. 31 for use later at the Maritime Museum.

For an additional fee, selected ships are offering on-the-water experiences. From Aug. 22 through 24, sail out for a mock cannon battle or board one of several vessels – including two 80-foot International America's Cup Class (IACC) yachts – for a bay cruise. The Pilot will offer 30-minute cruises daily. For details and schedules, call the Maritime Museum or visit online.

There will be plenty of onshore activities, too, including music, food, vendors and entertainment, sometimes with a nautical theme. Among the offerings, the musical “Pirates of Pt. Loma” will be performed aboard the Berkeley, docked at the Embarcadero. The play's co-author, Welton Jones, said it's based on a local legend, parts of which are well documented. And, he pointed out, “It will play within view of where it all happened.”

The festival offers the rare opportunity to explore more than 20 vessels, from square-riggers to a submarine.

“This happens only every three years, and the event brings in tens of thousands of people,” said John Gilmore, Port of San Diego communications manager.

Since ancient times, men have followed the lure of the sea. Perhaps there's something in each of us that still responds to that call.

FESTIVAL OF SAIL WINDJAMMERS

From their beginnings in the Middle Ages, the “tall ships” came to rule the seas for several hundred years. For more info on these square-riggers, and all the other vessels participating in the festival, go to sdmaritime.org:

Eagle: A 295-foot barque built 1936, the Eagle is a U.S. Coast Guard Academy training ship. It has 21,350 square feet of sail and five miles of rigging. There is no charge for boarding the Eagle.

HMS Bounty: A 180-foot, full-rigged ship built 1960, the Bounty is a replica of a 1784 merchant ship and was built for MGM's “Mutiny on the Bounty” (1962) starring Marlon Brando. It also appeared in “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest,” “Treasure Island” and “The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie.”

HMS Surprise: A 179-foot, full-rigged ship built 1970, the HMS Surprise was launched as HMS Rose and was rechristened HMS Surprise for its role in the film “Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World” (2003). It is an authentic replica of a 1757 Royal Navy 24-gun frigate that cruised the American coast during the Revolutionary War.

Kaisei: A 151-foot brigantine built 1987, the Kaisei has visited more than 15 countries and has been crewed by volunteers from more than 26 nations.

Gloria: A 249-foot brig built 1966, the Gloria is a Naval Academy training and goodwill ship of the Armada de la Republica de Colombia, South America.

Star of India: San Diego's own Star of India is a 205.5-foot barque built in 1863. It is the oldest ship in the world that still sails regularly, and the third-oldest ship afloat in the United States.

Pilgrim: A 98-foot brig built in 1945, the Pilgrim is a replica of the ship immortalized by Richard Henry Dana Jr. in “Two Years Before the Mast.”

Irving Johnson: A 90-foot brig built 2003, the Irving Johnson provides sail training for Los Angeles Maritime Institute's Topsail Youth Program.

– PENNY LINGO

PARADE OF SHIPS

At 10 a.m. Wednesday, the following ships will parade into the harbor in this order, led by the Navy frigate Vandergrift, the Coast Guard cutter Sea Otter and a San Diego Harbor Police boat:

Eagle