Tall Ships No Quarter Given has been involved with, worked as crew, or sailed aboard

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Tall Ships

These are the vessels we've had the honor of sailing upon, or crewing with.

For more Tall Ships click here!

To see many of these ships in battle action,
see Clash of the Tall Ships or Dana Point Sea Battle

(All photos taken by C. M. Lampe)

ARGUS - This is the vessel we (the "No Quarter Given" staff) used to crew on. This square-rigged topsail ketch (originally a Baltic trader) was owned by the Sea Base of Newport Beach (CA), Boy Scouts of America. Scouts, Explorers and other youth groups would sign on for weekend trips or five-day trips, often putting in at Catalina Island, Dana Point, Long Beach Harbor, and Los Angeles Harbor, all the while learning to handle the sails, climb the rigging, and experience life as a sailor of days past. You see her here off the coast of Catalina. The winds were just right that mornin' and we were able to sail off our anchor, setting all sail, and were makin' about 5 knots!! Pretty good for the old girl (she was built in 1905). If you look closely at the flag she's a-flyin', you might recognise the black jack. And, if you look even more closely, you can spot Michael MacLeod half way up the riggin', peeking from around the mainsail. A few years ago, the Boy Scouts dry docked her, due to problems with dry rot in the wood. Last we heard, she was still in dry dock.

PILGRIM II - Berthed at Dana Point Harbor, this brig (only one of two on the West Coast) is a replica of the ship Pilgrim in Two Years Before the Mast. Year-long it does service for overnight living history programs, and does extra duty as a stage for performances of theater and music. She has appeared in several movies, and most recently acted as four different ships in the up-coming movie Amistad. She is the featured star of the Dana Point Tall Ships Festival, held each year on the weekend after Labor Day, in September.

SWIFT OF IPSWICH - Though the Swift is a replica of a 1780's brig, she was re-created in 1938 as a top-sail schooner. At one time the private yacht of Jimmy Cagney and his brother, she is now owned outright by the Los Angeles Maritime Institute (in Sept. '97 they held a "burn the mortgage" party). The Swift takes out crews of youths, first for a week of one day trips as the young crew learns the ways of her, then for a 5-day cruise. She is ever in need of volunteer crew.

LADY WASHINGTON - Though homeported in Grays Harbor, Washington, this brig is a welcome guest to Southern California. Together with the Hawaiian Chieftain, they have often blasted their way into many California ports, re-enacting 18th century sea battles. She is seen here firing a welcoming salute to the Pilgrim II. She is a replica of the first American vessel, a privateer, to make landfall on the West coast. She has a starring role at the beginning of the Star Trek film Generations, when Worf is being promoted in a ceremony a la Hornblower on the holodeck. And of course, she had another starring role in Pirates of the Caribbean standing in as the Dauntless. Volunteer crew are needed to sign aboard for minimum two-week cruises. For information, call 800-200-LADY

HAWAIIAN CHIEFTAIN - This topsail ketch is a replica of a typical European merchant trader of the turn of the 19th c. Her hull shape and rigging are similar to those of Spanish explorer's ships used in the expeditions of the late 18th c. along the California coast. Her homeport is Sausalito, in the San Francisco Bay, but she often visits us in Southern California. Shown here (with the Swift of Ipswich to the left) as she takes part in last winters "Clash of the Tall Ships" in Long Beach Harbor. With her crack gun-crew, stout cannons, swivel guns, and Cap'n Ian at the helm, she's ready for quite a battle. If you look very carefully, you can make out the design on the topmost battle pennant. Yes, it is Mickey Mouse . . . it's a long story.

For more Tall Ships click here!

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