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Erika Ritchie. Lake Forest Reporter. 

// MORE INFORMATION: Associate Mug Shot taken August 26, 2010 : by KATE LUCAS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

DANA POINT – Nathaniel Shaw leaned into the Spirit of Dana Point’s wheel, using his fully body weight to push it three clicks left as he had been told.

His father, Ron Shaw, a U.S. Navy captain based at NASA’s Stennis Space Center in Mississippi, watched his slim, 8-year-old son’s efforts with a smile.

“It’s a lot harder than I thought,” Nathaniel said after succeeding at the task. “You have to stay strong and get it into the direction the wind’s going so you can guide the ship.”

The replica 118-foot Revolutionary War-era tall privateer schooner had just sailed out of Dana Point Harbor, past the jetty and into the open sea beyond the Dana Point Headlands, once the marker for the town’s namesake Richard Henry Dana. The author of “Two Years Before the Mast” called Dana Point’s coastline “the only romantic spot on the coast.”

Nathaniel and his father were among dozens Saturday who got hands-on experience in what it was like to be a privateer sailing the seas off the Pacific Coast in the late 1700s and early 1800s. Passengers helped raise sail, handle lines and steer the ship.

The maritime living-history program is run by the Ocean Institute to give the public insight into the maritime industry and how it played a role in the development of the West Coast.

In September, the annual Tall Ships Festival gives thousands an opportunity to climb on board and see the Spirit of Dana and the Pilgrim, which are docked near the institute in Dana Point Harbor. At least seven other tall ships from along the California coast sail in for the popular event.

Skip Wehan, 79, captain of the Spirit of Dana Point, explained to passengers of the two-hour sailing trip the ship’s historical significance and described what it would have been like to be a pirate, patriot or privateer back then.

Ships like the Spirit of Dana Point were known for speed, powered by their often nearly 800-pound main sail. Raising the heavy sails was made easier by blocks and tackles where sailors worked in a group using a single rope to maneuver the weight through a series of pulleys, Wehan said.

A ship like this one would have done battle during the Revolutionary War or could have been used for smuggling. Others like the Pilgrim, the institute’s second tall ship, were used for moving heads of cattle and carrying manufactured supplies such as foodstuffs, shoes and iron.

“There are not many ships available anymore to do this on,” Wehan said. “I hope experiences like this open their minds and give an insight into the age of sailing and the history of the country and the world.”

Orange County ship builder Dennis Holland became a local celebrity after he built the boat in the front yard of his Costa Mesa home in the 1980s. He sold the boat to the Ocean Institute in 2001.

The sailing trip was an exciting ocean adventure for Dean Weston, 14, and his sister, Anne Weston, 15, of Laguna Hills. Both siblings took a turn steering the ship and helping heave the sail up the 100-foot mast. Both agreed, it was harder than it looked.

“I think it’s really cool to see how people got around then,” Anne Weston said. “It reminds me of what I learned in history classes.”

For Robert Hahn, the sail brought back memories of being a merchant marine for Hapag-Lloyd in Hamburg, Germany. Hahn, 65, said he traveled to 120 countries in more than a decade. Now living in Costa Mesa, he and his wife come to the Dana Point Harbor at least twice a week just to be around the boats.

He’s had his eye on the Ocean Institute’s tall ships for a while and finally got on board one, he said.

“My wife gets seasick just from watching commercials on TV for Red Lobster,“ he said, explaining why he was on board solo.

Hahn quickly made friends, swapping sea stories and giving Nathaniel Shaw tips on steering the ship.

“I told him where the numbers were on the wheel and which way to turn it depending if the captain wants the numbers higher or lower,” Hahn said. “It’s fun, it doesn’t get any better than this.”

He’s also got the ship’s next sail date in August on his calendar.

Contact the writer: 714-796-2254 or eritchie@ocregister.com or on Twitter:@lagunaini