Delaware River Ship Spotting

I wanted to have a look at the Moshulu (currently a floating restaurant), but the ship wasn’t open until dinner. I killed some time by walking along the river.

This was the closest I got to the SS United States:

Bulk carrier Imperial Eagle on the New Jersey side of the river:

The battleship New Jersey at Camden:

The wooden-hulled barkentine Gazela (1901), not ready to sail:

The tug Jupiter (1902):

Gazela and Jupiter are operated by the Philadelphia Ship Preservation Guild.

Ride the Duck tour:

Cape Cod:

James R Moran:

Discovery Coast pushing a barge:

Last…not a ship, but a young ring-billed gull (Larus delawarensis), I believe:

New York Ship Spotting

My previous post covered South Street Seaport Museum’s barque, Peking.

I would have liked to see Wavertree as well, but she is currently having work done in dry dock:

The lightship known as “Ambrose” (United States Lightship LV-87), is also a really interesting vessel to check out:

In waters where it was impossible or impractical to build a lighthouse, lightships were stationed to guide ships.

Peeking out from behind Ambrose, in the above photo, are the masts of the schooner, Lettie G. Howard.

On Peking’s port side is the museum’s barge Progress and its other schooner, Pioneer:

Since it was such a nice day, I decided to ramble south along the waterfront.

Coast Guard boat speeding along:

Morgan Reinauer and barge passing the Brooklyn Bridge:

B Franklin Reinauer and Robert Burton with barges:

I eventually wound up at the Staten Island Ferry’s Whitehall Terminal. (Side note: I learned about the death of Prince via a TV in one of the shops in the terminal.)

I decided to take a ride on the ferry. How could I pass up an opportunity to get out on the water for free?

Castle Williams, an historic building on Governors Island:

Rockaway, a sludge (ick) tanker:

Guy V. Molinari, one of the ferries, headed toward Manhattan:

One of the seagull escorts:

Stuyvesant, a dredger:

Tanker Alpine Hibiscus:

Brendan Turecamo:

Ferries at the St. George Ferry Terminal on Staten Island:

I was fascinated by these wood piles:

Looking toward Manhattan:

Tangier Island:

Margaret Moran:

Tanker Bright Dawn:

On the trip back to Manhattan, I took the obligatory shot of the Statue of Liberty:

One World Trade Center and surrounding buildings:

Evening Light and barge:

Schooner Clipper City:

Back to Whitehall Terminal:

Ramps:

Battery Maritime Building (historic ferry terminal):

San Francisco (Thursday, August 7)

My flight arrived at San Francisco early Thursday morning.

I had decided to use public transportation to get around the city. The first thing I had to do was to get from the terminal to the BART station. Fortunately, there was a tram:

BART train:

After getting off at the Embarcadero Station, I found a nearby Walgreens and got a Clipper Card. Very useful. Also proving to be invaluable was my smartphone, Google Maps, and a public transportation app.

A short walk and street car ride brought me close to Hyde Street Pier.

Curb along the way to San Francisco Maritime NHP:

A friend and I had made arrangements to go for an afternoon sail on board the park’s schooner Alma.

While waiting, I watched work being done aloft on Balclutha:

Harsh commentary from a seagull:

Alma’s pennant:

It was a bit blustery out on the bay, but I totally enjoyed being on a ship that actually sails (for a change).

Sailboat zipping along:

View from Alma toward Sausalito:

A peek at some Coast Guard boats in Horseshoe Bay:

Golden Gate Bridge, with tops hidden by fog:

Detail:

Time passed all too quickly and soon we had to return to the pier.

In the evening, I tagged along with another friend to Berkeley for pool and dinner.

***

Some details related to past posts.

FOC could use a gangway set up similar to this:

Balclutha‘s port side port:

Starboard side port:

This post wouldn’t be complete without some shipspotting.

CSCL Winter:

Tug Ahbra Franco assisting Pichincha:

Pichincha:

ETA: A bit of bad timing. Due to work on the piles, most of Hyde Street Pier was closed to the public (Mondays through Thursdays), which meant no access to the ships. Boo.

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 (Pisaster brevispinus?), 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.

First Full Day in San Diego

The first full day in San Diego was spent at the Maritime Museum of San Diego. Anyone who loves ships can happily spend a whole day there going through the ships and looking at the exhibits.

The centerpiece of the museum’s collection is the Star of India (built as Euterpe in 1863). She has a connection to Hawai‘i. Like Falls of Clyde, she once flew the Hawaiian flag. (See Under the Hawaiian Flag.)

(Sorry, the tip of the jibboom is being cropped off by the blog software.)

She’s a lovely ship and is well-cared for by her crew.

The bulkhead behind the chain locker:

I wish FOC’s bulkheads were in such good condition.

The ship’s original official number and tonnage:

The boatswain’s locker:

Cool pump machinery on the weather deck, aft of the main mast:

The salon:

Interesting to note, Star of India‘s salon has a similar look and feel to FOC’s. Before FOC’s salon was stripped of items while the ship was being prepped to be scuttled at sea, that is.

The skylight:

It’s a relief to see that I’m not the only one dealing with water-related issues:

Chafing gear on mooring line:

For Patrick O’Brian and Master and Commander movie fans, there is the Surprise (ex-Rose):

Figurehead:

My friend and I originally wanted to sail on the Californian, but decided to continue looking at the ships instead.

Californian arriving back at the pier:

Aloft, furling sails:

The museum’s headquarters are on board the Berkeley:

A new location means new birds to photograph.

Here is a rather angry looking pigeon sitting on the B-39 Russian submarine:

A juvenile gull yawning:

Other San Diego Bay sights…

Carnival Spirit leaving:

The aircraft carrier USS Midway:

A more industrial shot of a crane on a barge:

I kept looking for fish, but was disappointed. I guess I’m spoiled by the clarity of the water and the variety of fish in Honolulu Harbor.

All in all, a very lovely day!

A special mahalo to Brad H. and Dr. Ray Ashley.

Abbreviated

I had written a summary of what I did on board the Falls on Saturday. I read it and decided I was rambling and sounding self-important. So, here’s the short version: Scrubbing, whipping, coiling, and sweeping.

The starboard side of the fo’c’sle, post-sweeping:

Oops…I missed some spots.

***

This morning, I went down to the harbor for a little while to take some photos of the schooner Tara. Here she is approaching Pier 9 with a pilot boat (hi Paul!) alongside:

Research Schooner Tara

According to the DOT Harbors schedule, the French research schooner Tara will be arriving on Sunday.

As I’ve mentioned before, I have always been interested in accounts of exploration and scientists at sea. It’s always nice to learn about current marine expeditions.

For more information about Tara and her mission: Tara Oceans

Photo by A. Deniaud from the Tara Oceans gallery

Lynx on the East Coast

According to Lynx’s blog, in November, the schooner will head for the East Coast for a 5-year period. She will be conducting day sails out of a number of ports along the coast, starting at Palm Beach, Florida. She will also be participating in events marking the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812.

Best wishes to ship and crew!

Schooner Lynx

The schooner Lynx leaving Kewalo Basin with Waikiki and Diamond Head in the background.