The Lady Washington is a replica of the 18th century brig that was the first ship to reach the West Coast. But now, some of the Lady's sails are ragged and tattered. So students at a unique Northwest school are helping out.

The Lady Washington is well-known to school children and movie-goers. It made a star turn in the "Pirates of the Caribbean" series. And while it's only a replica of a very old ship, its sails are actually quite old.

New sails are coming, but the sunken treasure needed to pay for them still hasn't been found.

Since 1989, the majestic Lady Washington has been the historical face of maritime Washington, sailing to ports from Alaska to San Diego.

About 10,000 to 15,000 school children board every year.

But all that travel has taken a toll. Some of the ship's sails are showing their age.

"We have patched the sails, we have re-stitched them. We have re-patched the patches," said Capt. Les Bolton, Grays Harbor Historical Seaport Authority.

That's were 12 students and two instructors at the Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding come in. Over the next three months, they will make 22 new sails for the Lady Washington and its companion ship, the Hawaiian Chieftain.

Sailmaking student Capt. "Evil" Ryan Meyer is a bit nervous about it.

"First time through building sails from scratch, I'm definitely going to be doing a lot of homework," he said.

Among the challenges of making these sails is replicating old-world craftsmanship with polyester.

"We're talking about sails from the 1780's. Nobody makes that kind of sail any more," said Wayne Chimenti, sailmaking instructor.

"I believe this is the only school, the only class in the world that is teaching this type of sailmaking," said Bill Mahler, Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding.

But the money to make those sails is still lacking. So the boat's owner, the Grays Harbor Historical Seaport Authority, has embarked on a "Raise the Sails" campaign, hoping to garner $93,000 in donations.

The new sails will be flying this summer when the Lady Washington has tall-ship gatherings in Tacoma, Washington and in British Columbia.