Irving Tours the Coast
(April 28, 2003) - ST/V Irving Johnson is midway through her maiden voyage which began on March 31st and ends May 14th. The vessel has called at Ventura/Oxnard, the Channel Islands, Half Moon Bay, San Francisco and Oakland, and is currently operating out of the Bay Model berth in Sausalito, just north of the Golden Gate Bridge.

Irving had the honor of leading the "Opening Day on The Bay" parade, marking the start of the sailing season in San Francisco. See the photos of her first sail under the Golden Gate in our Events section.

Another highlight of the trip came on April 1st when Irving boarded her first "kids crew," taking Ojai Valley students to Channel Islands National Park.

TERRIBLY OUTDATED !!
LAMI continues to hold numerous fund raising events, though you'll have to visit their site for current info. The purpose of Brigantines.com was to document the now complete construction project and I'm afraid you'll find an occaisional reference to past events residing on these pages, left in tact as a historical reference.

As a non-profit organization, the Institute raises money to assist groups that are not able to afford the full cost of the program. "Never turn away a kid for lack of money" is the battle cry. Each year the dinner event has raised funds to develop and grow the TopSail Youth Program.

As time permits, I will add CURRENT events to this page if I hear about them sufficiently in advance. But, again, if you seek current info visit the LAMI site or call their office at (310) 833-6055.

Exy Underway With TopSail
(April 21, 2003) - While Irving Johnson is away from home port, Exy Johnson has begun local operations with the TopSail Youth Program. She's been taking numerous day sails to familiarize her crew with the new rig and, like Irving, has already taken her first group of TopSail kids for a sail.

If you missed the March Open House, you can see Exy berthed at the south end of Ports O' Call Village in San Pedro, the new "temporary" berth location for the Twin Brigantines.

In May, Exy is scheduled to be fully involved with schools and organizations from throughout the Southland. She'll be taking kids from Banning, San Pedro, Westchester and other schools, and welcoming groups from the City of Carson, Port of Los Angeles, YMCA and Coast Guard Auxiliary. A busy schedule of youth oriented sailing activity!