Via Flickr:
Indonesian sailors perform a traditional dance to welcome U.S. Military personnel aboard the Indonesian Navy tall ship, KRI Dewaruci at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii. The KRI Dewaruci, arrived at JBPHH on Feb. 29, 2012, for a brief port visit while enroute the U.S. mainland. Dewaruci began her cruise from Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia on Jan. 14., as part of International Operation Sail (OpSail) 2012 to commemorate the bicentennial of the War of 1812. (Department of Defense photo by U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Michael R. Holzworth/Released)
Indonesian Navy ship, KRI Dewaruci at Pearl Harbor
The Man Who Wouldn’t Die
Born in Wales in the mid 1700′s, Isaac Davis became one of the trusted advisors of Kamehameha the Great. While serving with an American company under the leadership of Captain Simon Metcalf, Davis served aboard the small ship Fair American. In 1790, having come from the Pacific Northwest, Davis’ ship was attacked while conducting trade along the Kona coast of Hawai’i Island. A local chief, having been disrespected by Captain Simon Metcalf (who had visited several days earlier on the Eleanora), swore …
Latest on City of Adelaide
BBC – City of Adelaide clipper ship occupied by campaigner
Peter Maddison, who is the head of the organization that wanted to bring the ship to Sunderland, is occupying the ship once more.
Last Day – 20 February
A return to SFMNHP to see the other ships.
First, a stop off at the Aquatic Park Bathhouse building, which was designed to resemble a ship. I visited the building during my last trip to San Francisco. From what I remember, there were more displays then and the interior of the building seemed much darker. A lot changes in 10 years.
The lobby now houses a few very nice sailing ship models and part of the Niantic.
Niantic’s copper sheathing:
Then, there are the striking surrealist murals on the walls. They were painted in the 1930s by artist Hilaire Hiler and depict various underwater scenes.
Some details that appealed to me:
Ad on the side of a bus stop on the way to Hyde Street Pier:
The first stop was the wooden schooner CA Thayer. She is in the process of being restored.*
Wood detail:
Knees:
View toward stern:
Loading ports:
Located between CA Thayer and Balclutha is the sweet little paddlewheel tug, Eppleton Hall. Love!
It’s a shame she is not in better condition:
The ferry Eureka:
A volunteer hard at work on the steam tug Hercules:
Detail of the hull of the replica shrimp fishing junk Grace Quan:
Balclutha’s Plimsoll Line:
A Pepto-Bismol-colored starfish (ick), looking like it’s hanging on for dear life:
Seen on the bumper of a car in the parking lot of the Beach Chalet:
The same car also had “North Shore” and hibiscus stickers.
Thanks Brush! Lots of fun and learned a lot!
*ETA: Brush mentioned that parts of Wawona were saved and will be used in the restoration.
Union Iron Works
When Falls of Clyde was converted into a tanker in 1907, the work of constructing the 10 tanks in her hull was done at Union Iron Works in San Francisco.
Signage at the SFMNHP visitor center:
Detail:
Some of the old buildings still exist:
The white building in the middle looks like the one indicated by a red arrow in the historic image above.
Unfortunately, a lot of the buildings in the area seem to be in poor condition and closed off:
I would have liked more time to look around, but it was getting late.
On another note, this raccoon was spotted taking advantage of a supply of food left out for feral cats:
A joke about it being Joe, FOC’s elusive ship’s raccoon, seemed to be in order. That is, until I looked carefully at the photo and noticed said raccoon appears to be a Joelle!
Ship Spotting – San Francisco
APL Germany:
Pacific Success passing under the Golden Gate Bridge:
A neat thing was seeing ships that have called at Honolulu Harbor in the past.
One of these is Chevron’s Oregon Voyager:
Note: That’s SS Jeremiah O’Brien in the dry dock to the right.
From June of last year:
Matson’s Lihue next to the dry dock:
And, yes, I guess I’ve been spending too much time at Honolulu Harbor, because I could recognize this as a Matson ship:
It’s Maui approaching the Bay this past Monday.
According to the Honolulu Harbor shipping schedule, Maui should be arriving here tomorrow afternoon.
Around the Bay – 18 February
Brush very kindly offered to take us on a tour around the Bay. We travelled in a counter-clockwise direction, starting off with the Bay Bridge.
Some of the sights along the way…
Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz from Treasure Island:
The city of San Francisco, also from Treasure Island:
American coot (Fulica americana), more common than the Hawaiian coot, but with the same red eyes:
The Matson facility in Oakland:
Building on the waterfront in Alameda where the Alaska Packers’ Association once moored its vessels:
Old postcard showing how the area once looked.
Rat guards on USS Iowa, currently in Richmond preparing for the move to Los Angeles:
SS Red Oak Victory in Richmond:
In the same general area, the steam schooner Wapama on her barge looking quite sad as the clock ticks:
Detail of hull:
Near Wapama, another vessel that faces an uncertain future, the Lion.
Lion is actually an old friend of Falls of Clyde. She was the US Navy tug USS Moctobi. In 1963, she was tasked with towing FOC from Seattle to Hawai‘i.
Photo courtesy of Friends of Falls of Clyde
Although it’s been painted over, you can still make out her old name at her stern:
Low tide at Point San Pablo:
The sun was setting as we crossed the Richmond–San Rafael Bridge.
Through the Waldo Tunnel (complete with people honking their car horns for fun):
Traffic was rather heavy due to the closure of the Bay Bridge (inbound to San Francisco), so it was night by the time we crossed the Golden Gate Bridge.
Afternoon Visit
As nice as the other ships are, it’s good to see the dear old girl after being away.
The Last Whaling Station
Remnants of the whaling station at Point San Pablo at sunset:
The link below features a short video with historic video and photos and an interview with one man who worked as a whaler.
KQED QUEST – America’s Last Whaling Station
ETA: From KQED QUEST’s Flickr set, an aerial photo of the Point San Pablo area.
Image Source: Pratt Peterson and Norman Chan, Port of Richmond
