About Us
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Schooner Mystic Whaler
Mystic Whaler was built in 1967 in Tarpon Springs, Florida, and designed by V.B. Crockett. She is a representation of a late 19th-century cargo two-masted schooner. In 1995, she went through a significant overhaul. Mystic Whaler then operated on the East Coast for the next 26 years, conducting educational programs and charters throughout Long Island Sound, Connecticut, and the Chesapeake Bay. She started her three-month journey to California in October 2021 and was donated to CCOA in January 2022. Mystic Whaler is Coast Guard-certified to carry a maximum of 50 passengers on day sails and 30 passengers for overnight voyages.
CCOA’s Mission:
TO PROVIDE EXPERIENTIAL TEACHING OF NAUTICAL SKILLS, TEAMWORK, LEADERSHIP, AND ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSIBILITY ON THE CENTRAL COAST AND CHANNEL ISLANDS.
Central Coast Ocean Adventures (CCOA) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit committed to delivering uniquely immersive ocean-based educational experiences along California’s Central Coast and the Channel Islands. CCOA believes that to adventure is to discover and learn from the excitement of experiencing the unfamiliar. Roger and Sarah Chrisman founded CCOA in 2021, acting on long-standing wisdom that the Santa Barbara Channel- and its ocean, islands, and coastline- are educational treasures from which everyone should benefit. The organization’s flagship resource, the 110-ft schooner Mystic Whaler, is the perfect medium for exploring adventure-inspired learning through sailing and the sea. CCOA’s hands-on, activity-based programs develop and strengthen STEM academic comprehension, social/emotional maturity, environmental stewardship, nautical skills, and historical lessons. CCOA is committed to making engaging experiential education and the Santa Barbara Channel more accessible to the communities of Santa Barbara and Ventura counties.
CCOA works with communities to provide programs that are relevant to their needs. While many of CCOA’s programs are for 10-18-year-old youth, some programs are intergenerational and family oriented, where parents and their children can grow and learn side by side and from one another. Volunteers and volunteer opportunities are especially important to CCOA, seen as essential in remaining not just a resource for the community but a part of it. CCOA offers educational programs year-round, from half-day to multi-day voyages, adaptable to the needs of the group served, be it a school, community-based organization, or programs open to the public.
CCOA provides financial assistance for access to programs based on needs through funding from private foundations, corporate and government grants, individual donations, and paid-program revenue. CCOA also offers Mystic Whaler for fundraising events, multi-day adult educational trips to the Islands, corporate team-building, and public day sails focused on local wildlife and ocean conservation.
For more information or to help support this new community treasure, please email CCOA at info@sailccoa.org
Or follow us on Instagram and Facebook @CCOA.Mystic
Central Coast Ocean Adventures is a proud member of
Tall Ships America!
Ship’s Specs:
• 110’ Sparred length
• 85’ On deck
• 97 Gross registered tons
• Representation of a late 19th-century cargo schooner
• Carries 3,000 square feet of sail
Her Trip to California:
Mystic began her journey to the West Coast in October 2021. She departed Mystic Seaport with a professional crew of 14 southbound for Ft Lauderdale, FL. Mystic was then loaded onto a large cargo ship bound for Ensenada, Mexico. On December 26, the Mystic was offloaded in Ensenada. Departing a few days later for Channel Islands Harbor, with the Pacific finally under her hull, she arrived at her new homeport at the Channel Islands Maritime Museum in Oxnard, CA, on January 9, 2022. Tall ship Philosophy When students are aboard, they begin a journey of self-discovery. For many, this will be their first trip away from home, their first time to the harbor, and their first experience onboard a boat.
