It’s a sort of game day at the Ocean Institute this weekend as several historically accurate sailing ships with their tall masts are in the Dana Point Harbor for the 41st celebration of the Maritime Festival, helping showcase life on the water in the 18th century.

Armed with its cannons, the Spirit of Dana Point, the Ocean Institute’s flagship , will join six other tall ships outside the harbor’s breakwaters, giving those who climb on board a real sense of what it was like to be in a maritime battle.

Luke Rayburn, left, 7, of Laguna Beach and Finn Carey, 7, of San Juan Capistrano get ready to board a tall ship outside the Ocean Institute in Dana Point Harbor for a pirate adventure during the annual Maritime Festival on Friday, Sept. 12, 2025. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Contributing Photo

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