Early one Sunday morning more than two decades ago, Chuck McGohey was working on his boat at Channel Islands Harbor in Oxnard when he caught sight of a tall, magnificent beauty.

As he gazed in awe at the Californian — the official tall ship of the state of California — its 100-foot sails towered above the water, glimmering in the sun like a pirate's treasure. The 6-ton, 142-foot topsail schooner was docked in the harbor near the Whale's Tail restaurant, and McGohey couldn't believe his eyes.

At the time, he was a Marine officer stationed at Naval Base Ventura County in Port Hueneme working as a training advisor for the Seabee's 31st Naval Construction Regiment. He said he fell in love with the tall ship and dreamed of sailing on it.

"Back then, I would've given anything just to be able to go aboard," said McGohey, 55. "Becoming captain was an impossible dream."

But now, McGohey is living his dream. After serving 28 years in the Marine Corps, he retired in 2003 and obtained his Coast Guard captain's license. Today, he is not only sailing on the ship he fell in love with 20 years ago, he is its captain. "My life has come full circle — now I've brought the Californian back to Channel Islands Harbor near the very spot where I first met her," said McGohey, who now lives on a 62-foot sailboat moored in Oceanside.

The Californian is one of eight tall ships from around the world that are spending the weekend at Channel Islands Harbor during the Tall Ships Festival. The event, which ends today, features dockside public tours and historic battle reenactments at sea as part of the American Sail Training Associations' Tall Ships Challenge race, which began in Victoria, British Columbia, and ends in San Diego. The festival also includes Civil War encampments, a pirate's camp and live music.

The tall ships are faithful replicas of 18th- and 19th-century sailing vessels. The Californian is a replica of the 1847 Revenue Cutter the C.W. Lawrence, which enforced federal law as it patrolled the California coast during the Gold Rush.

Just before it was scheduled to sail to Channel Islands Harbor from San Francisco, the Californian had a mishap at sea, McGohey said.

"There was major gear failure that broke one of the wooden spars which supports three of the sails. All of a sudden, the sails and rigging collapsed. If the worst had happened, you'd have 100-foot masts falling down on the deck and then you've got a really dangerous safety situation," he said.

Chief mate Bob Nelson said the trouble occurred during a battle reenactment at sea with about 45 passengers on board. "The wind was blowing about 20 knots and you don't know how bad it's going to get. So I yelled down, down!' to get crew and passengers out of harm's way," Nelson said.

He said the crew was able to secure the sails and rigging and no one was hurt. Repairs to the sails were made in San Francisco and the ship sailed to Oxnard without incident.

During a battle reenactment, gunner and deck hand Chari Wessel operates the ship's 6-pound guns, which have a range of about a mile, she said.

Wessel loads, fires, cleans and then re-loads the guns. "It's not a glamorous job, but it's exciting because the deck officer is shouting at you and the opposing ship is approaching. It's like shaking hands with the past," Wessel said.

The Californian is unique because it's at sea 200 days a year providing educational programs to adults and students about maritime history, said Connie Allen, crew member and education coordinator for the San Diego Maritime Museum, the ship's owner. "We take 5th-graders up through high school out to sea and teach them the practical skills of being a sailor," she said.

Preserving maritime heritage and the art and craft of sailing is central to the Californian's mission, said McGohey.

"We've been a seafaring nation since Colonial days. If we don't preserve this centuries-old tradition, it will die out."