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 Rawlings donated local artist Scott Kennedy's painting, "The Argus in the New Century," to the foundation. Kennedy has used lessons learned while aboard Argus in his professional career.
As the Argus Foundation makes its way toward nonprofit status, it 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," Kennedy said. "I hope everybody sees the importance of keeping this vessel afloat."
