Ventura : Museum Celebrates Sailing Ship Era

The era of sailing ships with billowing sails and graceful lines is celebrated at the new Ventura County Maritime Museum at Channel Islands Harbor, which opens today.

Fine art graces the walls of the museum, but it is the 40 ship models that immediately catch the eye. In a sea of glass cases sail the Bounty and the Cutty Sark, the Mayflower, the Constitution and Old Ironsides.

The museum will be free from 2 to 6 p.m. today, said Frank Crane, executive director of the museum.

After the grand opening, hours will be Wednesdays through Sundays from noon to 6 p.m. Admission will be $2 for adults and $1 for children from ages 5 through 12.

Antique ship models include the Mars, named after the god of war, which was built in 1793 to show the lords of the British Admiralty how the full-sized ship would look when launched.

Nine models made over 30 years by master model builder Ed Marples also are displayed.

They include replicas of the steamship Robert E. Lee and the Souvereign of the Seas, the ship whose expense and extravagant gold inlay led to the downfall of England’s King Charles I.

Marples’ workshop, including his 10th, unfinished ship, is displayed in detail.

The museum has been in the planning stages for five years.

The 6,200-square-foot building, located in Fisherman’s Wharf at Channel Islands Boulevard and Victoria Avenue, was built by Ventura County developer Martin V. Smith and houses models and fine art from the collection of Harry L. Nelson Jr., chairman of the board of the museum.

Nelson, owner of the Anacapa Marina, collected original paintings, lithographs, engravings and prints from the 17th through 20th centuries.

The collection was appraised recently at $5 million, Crane said.

Thirty of the works are displayed at the museum.