101 seafaring years take toll on tall ship

Argus, which docks at Newport Sea Base, is deteriorating -- so much so that, at least for now, it’s out of commission.When you’re 101 years old, some of your parts inevitably start to deteriorate.

A century on the sea has left its mark on Argus, a 92-foot topsail ketch that’s taught hundreds of Boy Scouts how to raise a sail and handle a ship.

Argus, a wood-hulled ship, has begun to decay to the point that Newport Sea Base officials have taken it out of service, and now they’re taking a hard look at its future.

A recent inspection led officials to cancel spring programs on the ship, and they’re looking for a different ship for summer sailing trips.

The immediate question is what to do about Argus.

Thirty-five years ago, Argus cost $40,000 to buy and $10,000 to overhaul to U.S. Coast Guard safety standards. Today, it could cost between $800,000 and $1.5 million to refit or rebuild, and replacing it with a new ship could cost substantially more.

The ship was built in 1905 in Denmark as a work boat, said Ralph Whitford, a former director of the sea base who is on an Argus advisory committee. It transported grain, lumber and cement at various times, and it traveled to and from Sweden, Denmark and Germany, and possibly to Iceland.

About a year after R. Tucker Thompson bought Argus in 1969, it came to the Newport Sea Base, where it’s been operated as a training ship by the Orange County Council of the Boy Scouts of America ever since.

From April to October every year, groups of Boy Scouts and their leaders take the ship out and learn to tie knots, hoist sails, steer and navigate, as well as how to live on board.

Last year nearly 700 kids sailed Argus, and hundreds more have used it since it’s been a Boy Scout ship. Most are from California, but they also travel from Colorado, Texas, Utah and other states.

“The majority of them have never sailed before,” said Nick Silkebakken, one of Argus’ three captains. “I did have a group from Arizona that only one of them had ever seen the ocean,” he added.

Young sailors get to snorkel, kayak and go ashore to hike on their trips. They also learn teamwork and self-confidence from operating the ship together.

“When they come off that vessel, they’re salty, and some of them are still swaggering a little bit,” Whitford said.

Now Argus needs work. When it was inspected in January, the prognosis wasn’t good.

Over time, the wood in the ship’s hull has deteriorated. Though the ship is still operable, its stewards decided for safety reasons not to take Argus out without major maintenance work.

“I don’t think any of us felt that she’s going to sink with a boatload of kids on her,” said Mike Harrison, who’s on the Argus advisory committee. But, he added, “we’ve known for a long time that the day would come when we had to bite the bullet on this.”

Biting the bullet could mean rebuilding Argus, buying an existing ship, or spending up to $2.4 million to have a new, similar ship built.

The ideal replacement would be a ship the same size as Argus. A bigger boat could hold more kids, Fisher said, but it would also be harder for inexperienced sailors to control, and its sails would be so heavy it could take 20 kids to pull them up.

Refunds have been issued for about six weekend trips set this spring, but officials hope to charter another ship for six-day summer programs.

Though Argus’ future is unclear, it’s certain the ship will be missed whenever it is retired.

“It’s an icon in this area,” Whitford said.

Sea base leaders are hoping for feedback from the community on what to do about Argus, but they vow to continue the sailing programs no matter what ship they use.

“The program is the whole thing,” Whitford said. “Whatever kind of platform we put it on doesn’t matter.”20060211iuhxsnncDON LEACH / DAILY PILOT(LA)Capt. Nick Silkebakken holds a piece of the stern of the tall ship Argus, which has been taken out of service because its condition is worsening.