Shipping out

Along with several others, Fred Bockmiller spent Tuesday morning paying tribute to the tall ship Argus, an icon on the Newport Beach coastline that provided him countless adrenaline-filled memories during the 26 years he served as its captain.

Before Bockmiller led the rescue of Dan Carlock — a lost scuba diver who had been afloat in the ocean for several hours in 2004 — he remembers the rush of encountering a pack of blue whales swimming all around the ship on its way back from Catalina Island in 2002 and the euphoric bellows of children aboard as a heavy wind thrust the ship faster than it had ever sailed during one of his early expeditions.

“This boat has provided so many wonderful experiences for so many people,” said Bockmiller, 75. “I love going out on it because it was a lot of work, but pure fun.”

The Argus meant a great deal to the dozen people who gathered Tuesday to give the 102-year-old topsail ketch the official send-off ceremony it earned after 35 years of service to hundreds of scouts at the Newport Sea Base.

The Argus will be tugged to Wilmington, Calif., at 8 a.m. Friday to be refurbished to seaworthy status by shipwright and former Sea Scout Wayne Ettel, after a U.S. Coast Guard inspection revealed extensive wood rot and iron sickness.

Standing among a montage of photos depicting the Argus’ long history, sea base director George Wood welcomed attendees to the “happy and sad occasion,” hopeful that the 92-foot tall ship would return to the base and to future generations of Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts after the $1.5 million restoration project is completed.

“This definitely leaves a big void in our program,” Wood said. “The legacy and history of the Argus surrounds the whole facility.”

Estimated to take two to three years, the repairs will be funded by donations to the newly formed Argus Foundation, which purchased the ship from the Boy Scouts of America for $1 Thursday, promising to undertake its maintenance.

For now, the future docking place of the ship remains unknown, though foundation members hope to again offer it to youth maritime programs in the Newport Beach area.

Former sea base director and co-creator of the Argus Foundation, Ralph Whitford, and Corki Rawlings, a former Girl Scout leader who led several voyages on the Argus, shared stories of the ship’s past, emphasizing the many skills it offered to local youth, including teamwork, cooperation and dedication.

“The Argus is going to last because it has heart,” Whitford said. “It’s had a terrific history, and we hope to guarantee it has a terrific future.”

To help in the fundraising efforts, local artist Scott Kennedy, who has used the lessons acquired on board the Argus in his professional career, donated his painting, “The Argus in the New Century,” to the foundation.

As it makes its way toward nonprofit status, the Argus Foundation hopes to offer the painting and a limited number of signed prints in exchange for donations.

“Once you learn the skills of a crew, they are unbelievably useful in the rest of your life,” he said. “I hope everybody sees the importance of keeping this vessel afloat.”