Independence Seaport Museum – Part 2

After leaving the museum building, I walked over to where the submarine Becuna and the cruiser Olympia are berthed.

I don’t have a huge interest in submarines, but I still enjoyed walking through Becuna while trying to imagine what it must have been like to work and live in such confined spaces.

Torpedo tube:

Abstract wires and tubes:

Note: Becuna is a Balao-class sub like Bowfin (Pearl Harbor) and Pampanito (San Francisco), which I’ve seen.

Standing on Becuna, looking forward:

I took more photos on board Olympia (another ship that needs help). I’m not familiar with the ship, so please drop me a note if I’ve got something wrong.

Attractive circular skylight:

Officers’ mess room:

Hatch and access ladder (off limits):

Builder’s plate:

Top of an engine:

Hammocks:

Union Iron Works on machinery:

I was fascinated by the ash hoist:

Metal scuttlebutt:

Printing press for producing ship publications:

Heads:

Looking along the deck toward a gun:

Captain’s quarters:

San Francisco and Oakland (Sunday, August 10) – Lots of Cranes

A mellow day that started off in the Potrero Point area.

Sheila Ann:

USNS Wally Schirra in the BAE dry dock:

Lihue laid up nearby:

Cranes:

Altered sign, should read “Public Shore”:

A former navy tug, Dekaury (YTB-178) between Piers 48 and 50:

Tug fenders on shore:

From there, it was over the bridge to Oakland.

Middle Harbor Shoreline Park is located amidst Oakland’s container terminals. It has an odd industrial feel, sort of like Sand Island State Park. It’s also a ship spotter’s dream.

Looking toward Potrero Point (spot the dry dock and Lihue) from the park:

Distinctive skyline:

TraPac Terminal:

Ben E. Nutter Terminal:

Oakland International Container Terminal:

NYK Atlas at the Oakland International Terminal with Matsonia just visible through the cranes at left:

The park is also a designated wildlife area.

Kildeer:

Unfortunately, there are a lot of Canada geese gathered in the park:

A lot of geese means a lot of geese poo. Ick.

Sticker art and donuts:

(If you look at the Google Maps satellite view of the area, you can see the donuts more clearly.)

From the park, it was on to the Oakland Museum of California. It is a very nice museum that consists of three main galleries: Art, History, and Natural Science.

Marine debris display and activity area:

There was a lot to see, but not enough time! Well worth visiting again.

Another Humid Saturday

Another hot, uncomfortable day.

I arrived at the pier to find that the sign on the gate that had been threatening to fall, finally did (it was on my to-do list). Before I fixed it, I did my routine tasks on the ship.

My gate sign reattachment solution was similar to that of the gangway platform sign. Easy peasy!

Sign hanging upside down on the gate. One end of the line spliced:

Splicing the other end:

The small, pre-punched holes in the corners of this type of sign are woefully inadequate and fail after a short while.

More holes punched in the sign.

Sign stitched on to the line:

Although I was sweating like I had just run a race (did I mention it was hot), it was quite relaxing to work on a simple project.

Now, if only someone would fix the gate…

(Hey, I can’t do it all!)

Unusual to see a US Army ship in the harbor. Here’s the USAV LTG William B. Bunker (LSV-4):

A better photo of the Robert C. Seamans than the one from last week:

Parasail. Obviously.

(Note: Not an endorsement of this particular company.)

Maui offshore, headed to the harbor:

good lighting + calm conditions = good shot

A photo by Rick Wilson of the pilot boat Honolulu passing along the starboard sides of tug Mikioi and Maui:

(Yes, I was on board.)

Tug of the day…Chinook, alongside Haleakala, ready to leave:

PSI’s large dry dock is empty:

Akatsuki Maru

Among the interesting and enjoyable moments of Friday’s pau hana gathering were the ship-related discussions and stories.

A while back, I went on an evening excursion with a friend to Snug Harbor. We passed by a large catamaran. She was unusual, but I didn’t really think a lot about it at the time. As I learned on Friday, she has an interesting history. She is Kaimalino, a SWATH ship that was built in the 1970s by the US Navy.

Kaimalino at Snug Harbor:

Wonder if there are any plans for her?

Thanks to Captain Baker and Paul!

ETA: Symi finally left!

On Guard Again

I arrived at the harbor a bit earlier than usual. I went to take a look at Crystal Serenity, which was at Pier 10/11.

Rat guards:

Tug of the day…Nene:

As I made my way to the ship, I noticed that a flag had been hoisted on the staff at the stern. Strange.

The alarm on the ship had been tripped a couple of times during the week, so I was alert to any signs of an intruder as I went aboard and did my inspection. There were some small things I noticed. Not good.

On a positive note, more work was done on the pump system:

Mock up of part of the discharge line:

Emergency. A fire truck and ambulance appeared on Pier 8:

I refreshed the yellow paint marking holes in the steel of the tween deck:

Before I left the ship for the day, I went up on the poop deck to lower the flag. I was rather miffed by what I saw:

Lubberly. That’s the word that comes to mind.

The line was fastened to the base of the staff, wrapped around the small cleat next to the staff, and pulled to the forward part of the steering gear where it was tied to the shaft of the wheel.

Worst of all, there was no down haul! Argh!

I climbed up on a step ladder to try to pull it down with a boat hook, but I couldn’t reach it. Grr. Frustration. I thought about standing on the steering gear, but it was quite blustery and I was afraid I’d lose my balance and end up taking a dive into the harbor.

So…the flag is still stuck on the staff. I hope we don’t get complaints that we’re being disrespectful.

I walked to Chinatown, where Chinese New Year festivities were taking place.

As this is a maritime blog…

Colorful fish:

Rear Admiral Richard Williams and the Pacific Fleet Band took part in the parade down Hotel Street:

Aloha, Moctobi

I had read about the plans to scrap (ex-) USS Moctobi and her sister ship (ex-) USS Quapaw, but hadn’t heard much beyond that. I just asked a friend about them, and he confirmed that, sadly, they are no more. They were broken up at Mare Island Ship Yard in the middle of last year.

Another piece of the Falls of Clyde story, now gone. I’m glad I got to see Moctobi when I did.

In a wild, crazy dream I had, I saw Moctobi here in Hawai‘i with the Falls. That will never happen now.

Aloha, Moctobi. Mahalo for your service to your country and to the Falls.

Photo courtesy of the Friends of Falls of Clyde

Last Weekend Before Project Start Date

Work on the pumping system continued today. There are a couple of areas that require consultation with our naval architect, so they probably will have to wait until he arrives next week.

The morning started off with a bit of rain. This poor bee was caught out in the light showers:

I hope she eventually managed to dry out and fly away.

A nut dropped on the deck in front of me as I was standing by the aft hatch. When I looked up, either a house sparrow or house finch was sitting high up on one of the jigger stays. Mystery solved?

Mahimahi arriving:

One of USS Crommelin’s rat guards:

More Navy!

I happened to be at the harbor when the frigate, USS Crommelin, arrived this afternoon:

Another “Bender”! 😀 CIWS (ID thanks to Buck) detail:

Heave!

I like the fancy work (a bit hard to see) on the staff:

HMNZS Te Kaha rat guard:

Cable laying ship Decisive:

I went to put some supplies on FOC and noticed that the bottom part of the stern draft mark pole has come loose again. 😦

Harbor Activity

I went down to the harbor an hour earlier than usual in order to watch the arrival of the French navy ship La Tapageuse. More about that later.

While I was waiting at Pier 9, the following vessels (among others) went by:

Pride of America arriving:

USCG Coastal Patrol Boat Kittiwake:

Matson’s barge Waialeale with Sause Bros. tug Henry Sr.:

The Matson logo on the side of Waialeale needs fixing. The “M” and “n” are too heavy and the other letters seem a little bit off too:

Na‘ina:

Finally, La Tapageuse, from Tahiti on the way to France:

From what I read online, this voyage is the ship’s last commission.

Throwing a heaving line:

Line handling:

Taking photos from hatch:

Trois Matelots:

US Navy representatives visit the ship:

Doing and Redoing

The pumps that were part of the water ballast transfer system that was dismantled by the previous owner of the ship were moved to the tween deck. It was another small, but positive step toward getting the system rebuilt. Mahalo to the USN Sea Cadets from the Missouri who provided the muscle power.

We have yet to test them. I hope they work.

I did a test to see how well different sizes of numbers photograph for a future project:

I also finished the chafing gear for one of the starboard spring lines:

I probably should have used larger line. Oh well. It’s doing what it’s supposed to.

Paul returned to adjust the draft mark pole at the bow and to put a new one at the stern. Conditions weren’t as good as last weekend and the boat he had borrowed (the pilot boat was busy) was rather unwieldy. So…mission aborted. 😦

The rescue boat from Star of Honolulu doing person overboard drill off FOC’s port side:

Speaking of rescue, the folks from Star of Honolulu fished our “lost” draft mark pole out of the water. As I was leaving FOC to go home, I saw it lying on the side of Pier 8. When I went over and asked if I could have it back, the fellow I spoke to said it had been found floating in front of their ship. Oops.

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.