Eleven years of planning, three years in the making--Jim Gladson’s triumph comes to San Francisco Bay

By Mary Swift-Swan & Ariane Paul

Los Angeles Maritime Institute’s newest Brigantine will be open for tours at Pacific Sail Expo, plus lead the parade for Opening Day on the Bay. This is part of the Irving Johnson’s 11-day stay and 5-day sail training to Morro Bay on its way home to San Pedro Harbor.

The first finished of a pair of 90’ Brigantine youth sail training vessels are both named after the pioneer youth sail trainers Irving and Electra (Exy) Johnson. Irving Johnson is coming to San Francisco Bay on its first long distance voyage from April 24-May 4!!! The twin Brigantine vessels are the result of three years of hard work bringing to life vessels like the Yankee used by Irving and Exy. In the 1930s, they began to teach youth and encourage women to take the helm. These vessels were designed by naval architect W.I.B. Crealock for the nonprofit Los Angeles Maritime Institute (LAMI) in its multi-award-winning TopSail Youth program. The mission of LAMIs Topsail is "not to train youths for lives at sea, but uses the sea to educate youth for life."

Irving was a farmer who never saw the ocean until he was 17. After one trip down the coast with his brother Arthur, he choose a life at sea instead of land. Sailing all sorts of boats he came to know what he wanted in a ship of his own. As for Electra, her first experience onthe sea was after college when she joined the former pilot boat Wander Bird on a cruise for three months. She joined with her former college classmate, Mrs. Warwick Thompson, wife of the Wander Bird’s skipper. It was aboard that pilot vessel where she met Irving, who was a boat mate who became her life’s mate in 1933. Obtaining the former pilot boat Yankee was Irving’s dream; training youth afloat was Exy’s idea. They circumnavigated seven times.

LAMI’s program was started in 1992 by former teacher Jim Gladson. TopSail’s mission is common to the Johnsons’, offering sail training that provides youth with real-life challenges to develop knowledge, skills. and attitudes needed to live healthy, productive lives. With a small, professional crew and hundreds of volunteers, LAMI provides over 5,600 youth sail days to over 70 different schools and youth organizations annually. Irving Johnson’s visit to San Francisco is a coordinated effort of Sail San Francisco tallship hosting agency, Pacific Sail Expo, Hawaiian Chieftaon. and San Francisco State’s Tall Ship Semester for Girls.

At press time, primary location in San Francisco Bay was not yet finalized. Captain Todd Burgman made arrangements to berth at Pier 40 and Sail San Francisco is working to bring her to Hyde Street Pier for at least part of her visit. For location, call 415-447-9822 or www.SailSanFrancisco.com.

SCHEDULE (at press time)

24 April, Arriving in Oakland (5:30-7:30pm evening dockside reception) .

25 April, Jack London Square public tours via Pacific Sail Expo (10am-7pm).

April 26, Sailing San Francisco Bay with the Tall Ship Society and media.

April 27, Opening Day on the Bay Parade(10-2pm) & Battle Sail with Hawaiian Chieftain(3-6).

April 28-29, Open for half- or full-day youth sails and evening dockside receptions

April 30, All Women Afternoon Sail supporting Tall Ship Semester for Girls.

April 30 & May 2, Available for morning public sails.

May 3-4, Open for half-day sails and evening dockside receptions.

AVAILABLE ON REQUEST WHILE IN SAN FRANCISCO BAY

SAIL TRAINING AT SEA

All Women’s Afternoon Sail to benefit the Tall Ship Semester for Girls (TSSG)

April 30th,

4 to 7pm Wednesday, $55 per person; 50 person maximum.

The sail benefits San Francisco-based Tall Ship Semester for Girls Program. Ladies who sail help make it possible for deserving girls to take part in TSSG. A Tall Ship Week for Women on the Irving Johnson is available the first week in September. The trip gives adult women a chance to experience the world of a tallship also serving as a fundraiser for the girls’ program. No experience is necessary! TSSG begins January 2004. Applications are available starting March 30th, and are due at the end of May. Contact Nettie Kelly c/o CHHS 1600 Holloway Ave., San Francisco, CA 94132-4161 Phone:(415) 405-3703 Fax: (415)338-0543

email:nkelly@tallshipsemester.org website:www.tallshipsemester.org.

May 5-9, Hands-on sail-training cruise, open to kids and adults, 22 berths, from San Francisco to Morro Bay. $125 per day for adults, $100 for students, for 2-, 3-, or 5-day adventures.

The Program includes safety orientation and square rig seamanship training in the following areas: terminology, sail handling, helmsman ship, sailing ship maneuvers, and square rig sail theory and trim. Participants will be split into watches and become an integral part of the crew helping to steer, navigate, and sail the vessel and pitch in with general ship chores. Individual instruction in marlinspike seamanship will be provided to interested participants. The Irving Johnson is a sail training ship and not a passenger vessel. Everyone is encouraged to participate in sailing the vessel. Contact Los Angeles Maritime Institute, Berth 84, Foot of Sixth Street, San Pedro, California 90731. James Gladson can be reached at: (310)-833-6055.

Call Claire Raffel at Sail San Francisco for details on her San Francisco visit and pricing 415-447-9822.