Today is a rainy day. I hung out with the kids while Tina went into town. By afternoon the rain was done and the sun came out though it was still a bit cool. After Tina returned we pretty much just hung out around camp reading and walking the kids.
Wednesday the 6th
The sun is out and it promises to be a beautiful day so we decided to head for the San Diego waterfront and the Maritime Museum (http://www.sdmaritime.org/). Being in Chula Vista has been very convenient. Once in the car we can be downtown in less than fifteen minutes.
Our directions took us to a parking lot on Ash St and Harbor Ave, on the waterfront right across from the Maritime Museum. Crossing the street we purchased our tickets along with a pass for a harbor tour. Walking down a gangway we boarded the Berkley, an old passenger ferry, which houses all the marine artifacts of the museum.
Built in 1898, the Berkley is an old steam driven ferry that operated in the San Francisco Bay for 60 years.
With seating for for almost 1,700 passengers, this 280 foot long and 64 foot wide vessel carried thousands of people to safety during the 1906 earthquake.
After signing in for the harbor tour we walked over to the boarding ramp for the USS Dolphin, a deep sea submersible designed for extreme depths and built primarily for research. Launched in 1968, the Dolphin served for 40 years, recording the deepest dive for an operating submarine in 1969. A record that still stands today.
The Dolphin is a very narrow diesel-electric sub and has been preserved in it research configuration with some of the oldest and some of the newest marine technology.
Returning to the outside via the aft hatchway we walked a short distance to a private yacht, the Medea. Built in 1904, the steam yacht was built in Scotland for William Maccalister Hall of Torrisdale Castle Scotland for hunting trip along the west coast. Bought by the French and converted to a gunboat she served in the first world war.
After the first world war the Medea returned to Britain and was reconverted to a pleasure craft until the start of WWII when she joined the British Navy as a barrage balloon vessel. After the war, once again a private vessel, the Medea operated as a charter and still goes out for cruises today. Currently the Medea is undergoing an extensive refit to return her to the glory of her launch days.
Stepping back onto the Berkley we walked out along the pier past several smaller boats and out to the end where there were two old cannon from WWI and a magnificent view of the bay.
Finally it was time to go on our cruise. we met the captain and other passengers at the boarding ramp and were ushered aboard a 1914 Harbor Pilot boat. Pilot boats were used to take a harbor pilot out to large vessels before they entered the harbor ensuring that a pilot with special knowledge of the harbor was at the helm.
We boarded and took a seat just aft of the pilot house on the outside deck where we had an unobstructed view. Our tour guide used a microphone to point out various features along the shore, starting out along the north shore going past a man made island, known as Casino Island for its several casinos including a stern wheeler built by Nichols Brothers.
Passing the mouth of the harbor we turned south past the Navy Base on Coronado Island where we saw both the USN Dwight D. Eisenhower and the USN Ronald Regan, two Nimitz Class aircraft carriers in dock for refits after extensive tours at sea. The long sausage like barriers floating alongside the carriers are security barriers designed to prevent another terrorist attack like the one on the USS Cole.
We weren't able to get too close in fact there were two Navy security gunboats that were on duty preventing boats from approaching the base.
Continuing south past Coronado we saw numerous beautiful private homes, several condos and resort hotels and the old ferry landing shopping center. Turning east we paralleled the Bay Bridge (CA-75) and approached the Port of San Diego and the container terminal. One out of every five imported cars in the US comes through the port.Turning north we cruised past the San Diego Convention Center, Sea Port Village, several city parks with lots of public art, the USN Midway, a post WWII aircraft carrier which is now a museum.
Once past the Midway we rounded two large cruise ships and headed for our berth alongside the old Medea.
Leaving the Pilot boat we crossed over to the "B-39" a Soviet era "Foxtrot" class diesel-electric attack submarine. Commissioned in 1974, 39 of these large boats were built, among the largest of its type. Used on regular patrols until 1994, the B-39 carried a crew of 78 and could dive to nearly a thousand feet. We had quite a task as we toured the length of the sub as most internal hatches, separating the different compartments, were a three foot circular hatch a foot thick. So we were going through them bent over like a circus performer stepping through a hoop.
Rising from the bowels of the sub we returned to the shore and walked over to the Star of India moored along the quayside. Built in 1863 the Star of India is the worlds oldest working ship. Built in the Ramsey Shipyard on the Isle of Man, the Star was one of the first iron hulled ships ever built. Currently going through a complete refit, she is due to be ready to sail by next November.
Crossing the gang plank we boarded amidships by the center mast continuing on the main deck to the foredeck of this amazing ship. Almost 220 feet in length and originally christened the Euterpe, she spent her early years hauling cargo from India. In 1871 she changed hands and made 21 trips around the world transporting emigrants to New Zealand with some voyages lasting over a year. In 1902 she was sold to a US company and spent twenty years hauling fishermen north to Alaska returning laden with canned salmon. For 35 years after the ship languished until in 1957 a visiting maritime authority lambasted the citizens of San Diego for letting her deteriorate. He was successful in raising awareness of the treasure she represented and over the next twenty years was fully restored.
We toured the entire ship, going below decks and even to the hold to see the ballast rocks and how spare rigging, spars and sails were stored. The accommodations for 1st class passengers were very nice. Those for what we would call coach class were adequate, but passengers making their voyage in steerage had a very spartan set of accommodations. This is truly a magnificent example of late 19th century sailing.
The only ship we didn't get to see was the HMS Surprise, a replica of an 18th century Royal Navy Frigate as she was recently sent to dry dock for refurbishment. This is the same vessel used to film "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World", a very good movie (we saw it when it came out). Coincidentally, we have a very large ship repair yard about three blocks away and the Surprise is visible from the street.
After our last stop we decided to call it a day and drove home, spending the rest of the day with the kids.
To see all our photos, click on:
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