The twin brigantinesIrving Johnson and Exy Johnson are the flagships of the Los Angeles Maritime Institute‘s (LAMI) TopSail Youth Program, a non-profit organization that helps at-risk youth learn discipline and teamwork through sailing. They join LAMI’s topsailschooners the Swift of Ipswich and the Bill of Rights. The boats are named for sail training pioneers Irving and Electa “Exy” Johnson. The brigantines are based on original plans designed in the 1930s by Henry Gruber but never built. Noted yacht designerW.I.B. Crealock was brought in to adapt the plans to meet modern Coast Guard regulations and to fit LAMI’s own stringent specifications based on their years of trial and experience. Master shipbuilder Allan Rawl was retained to oversee the project.
With the arrival of a truckload of South American Purpleheart hardwood for the keel in 2000, the Twin Brigantine project began in the parking lot adjacent to LAMI. The hulls were built in public, and framed out with American White oak and fastened with bronze. Launched on 27 April 2002, they were proclaimed as the “Official Tall Ship Ambassadors of the City of Los Angeles” by Mayor James Hahn and witnessed by one of their namesakes, Exy Johnson, before motoring out to a fitting-out berth where the interiors were finished and completed as their masts stepped, rigged and sails bent on. The restoration was made by a Californian company, led by Philippe d’Anière. They were commissioned on 28 March 2003.
Within its 90-foot (27 m) length on deck and 21-foot (6 m) beam the ship is divided into three cabins called “A”, “B”, and “C” compartments. In “A” compartment, 12 bunks, a head and enclosed shower are forward. In “B” compartment, 18 bunks, two additional heads, another shower and a large common area amidships can be found. Also amidships to port are a large refrigerator and freezer and access to the deck through the galley above. The galley features a six-burner propane stove forward, a day fridge to port and counter space with two deep sink wells to starboard. There are ports all around, providing light and ventilation. To aft lies the chart house with a large chart table and a wraparound settee that can be used for teaching, eating or charting. The nav station to port is readily accessible from the helm. It includes radar, GPS, VHF and SSB. Below in “C” compartment lies the master‘s cabin, an officer’s cabin with two bunks, four crew bunks aft, a head with enclosed shower and access to the engine room below. An on-deck cockpit provides additional teaching space as well as a location for al fresco dining. A 3208 V8 Caterpillar diesel engine provides auxiliary power producing 315 brake horsepower (235 kW) at 2600 rpm while a Northern Lights 16 kW electrical generator powers the amenities on board. Coupled with a Village Marine 50 gph water maker, it renders the ship capable of extended passages off shore. Two-and-a-half miles of running rigging support a total of 5,032 square feet (467 m²) of canvas on two masts and 13 sails, controlled by 85 lines on deck.
On March 21, 2005, Irving Johnson went aground on a sandbar outside the entrance to Channel Islands Harbor. The sandbar was the result of heavy rains, which washed debris and silt into the channel, and was thus uncharted. All crew and passengers were rescued safely, but initial attempts by the Coast Guard to tow the vessel off the bar failed and the vessel was stranded on the beach for several days before being pulled off. Suffering from serious damage which compromised the forward portion of the vessel and flooded the vessel with seawater, she underwent an extensive $2m reconstruction and was returned to service in early 2006.
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