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.

Ship Moot – 17 February

What could be better than a combination of friends and ships?

My friend and I arrived at the SFMNHP visitor center via a shuttle from the airport. We were going to take public transport, but the shuttle turned out to be a good idea.

We were a bit early, so we wandered off down the street toward Fishermans Wharf.

The famous sign:

Friendly Western gull (Larus occidentalis):

We met up with a friend who drove into town to meet us and Brush. While waiting for Brush, we decided to have a look at the USS Pampanito at Pier 45. Submarines aren’t really my thing, but it was interesting as a new experience.

We were just about done looking at Pampanito, when I got a call from Brush. It was about time for lunch, so we all decided to have something to eat before going to see the ships at Hyde Street Pier.

I was eager to go aboard Balclutha. I had seen her 10 years ago during a previous visit to San Francisco, but had not gone aboard her or any of the other ships. Along with FOC, she is one of the five Clyde-built sailing ships left in the world (the other three being Glenlee, Moshulu and Pommern). She is similar in size to FOC, but with three masts and a steel hull. Like FOC and Star of India, Balclutha also sailed under the Hawaiian flag at one point in her career.

Having Brush there to show us around the ship was awesome. The tour started at the fo’c’sle and moved on from there.

View aft from the fo’c’sle head:

We were standing on the poop deck, when a peregrine falcon (Falco peregrines) appeared. The falcon flew around, hovered over the weather deck, and eventually landed on the rigging.

A young boy asked where the ship’s guns were. Brush told him that Balclutha was a merchant vessel and didn’t carry guns. I was amused by the boy’s reply. He pointed out that the ship should have guns to protect the cargo.

While we were examining the chart house, one of the other visitors popped in and let Brush know that there was a dead pigeon on the weather deck.

Yeah, it was gross. Our friend, the falcon, had decapitated it.

A small crowd gathered around the pigeon before Brush picked it up and put it in a bag:

It was interesting to note the similarities and differences between FOC, Star of India, and Balclutha.

Salon detail:

Stern loading ports:

Frames with rust stains:

Side port:

Manufacturer’s mark on beam:

COATS = Coats Iron Works in Coatbridge, Scotland?

Alaska Packers’ Association (APA) house flag on porthole cover:

The Star of India also had APA porthole covers, but the ones I saw were covered over with white paint:

Perhaps the most interesting part of the tour was getting to see the hold. On Balclutha, it’s a working space. It’s something we don’t have on FOC due to her tanker configuration—the only readily accessible area, being the pump room.

Of special interest was the ballast system:

FOC has fresh water ballast (in her tanks). This is a problem, which we have to solve. Unfortunately, we can’t put in large blocks like those on Balclutha because we are limited by what can fit down the hatches to the tanks.

Balclutha’s rudder:

I could have lingered all day on board Balclutha, but it was getting late and we had to leave.