Tag: embarcadero

Rare airplane debuts on USS Midway!

Today a very rare airplane was transported across San Diego Bay. An enormous floating crane carried a restored Vought F7U Cutlass from Naval Air Station North Island and set it down onto the flight deck of the USS Midway Museum aircraft carrier.

Only seven Vought F7U Cutlass aircraft, built in the early years of the Cold War, are known to still exist. One of them was carefully restored at North Island. Today it joined many other historical aircraft on display at the USS Midway Museum.

I saw the tall crane as it was being pushed by a tugboat away from the museum. Then I observed an unusual plane perched on the flight deck by the aircraft carrier’s horns. A docent informed me what had just happened!

The Vought F7U Cutlass is a very odd looking airplane. Its design is unusual–there is no tail! See its Wikipedia page here!

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Dismasted whaling ship undergoes repairs!

The historic 1841 whaling ship Charles W. Morgan has undergone major repairs at the Maritime Museum of San Diego. The model ship, that is!

I learned from Tom Hairston, of the San Diego Ship Modelers Guild, that the ship became partially dismasted after “running aground” in a crashing gravitational accident! He effected repairs over the course of a month. He even rebuilt the shattered display case. Now the ship in its new “berth” appears immaculate!

This beautiful model of the tall ship Charles W. Morgan is one of many detailed model ships that visitors to the Maritime Museum can admire.

Tom told me he’d discovered several inaccuracies in the original model. Even those with absolutely no nautical knowledge can spot one glaring historical error.

Do you see it?

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!

Christmas trees fill ferryboat Berkeley!

Christmas trees and bright holiday decorations now fill the passenger deck of the historic ferryboat Berkeley! It appears to me that for 2022 there are more decorated trees and strung lights and snowflakes and magic than ever before!

Anyone who has stepped aboard the Berkeley at the Maritime Museum of San Diego knows how special the old ferryboat is. The ship’s cathedral-like passenger deck, with its colored windows and varnished wooden benches and views of the bay, is one of my favorite places in all of San Diego.

Imagine the spectacle after dark produced by the many Christmas trees and lights. Guests aboard Berkeley watching the Parade of Lights will be dazzled!

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!

Saturday morning at Tuna Harbor Dockside Market.

Look at all the activity today at Tuna Harbor Dockside Market!

Every Saturday morning, local fishermen bring their fresh catches to the pier between Seaport Village and Tuna Harbor, and lovers of seafood line up to buy fish and crabs and sea urchins and other edibles found in the ocean off San Diego.

I walked out on the pier this morning, marveling at how this outdoor fish market has grown. Can you believe it? Eight years have already passed since Tuna Harbor Dockside Market’s grand opening.

Anyone into photography would love strolling through this market with camera in hand.

There’s the whirl of life all around: diverse people from every walk of life rubbing elbows; families at tables devouring fish and chips; the picturesque commercial fishing boats; the human ebb and flow of commerce; circling gulls; playful sea lions barking down in the bay (I observed none today); and all those different species of fish, some of which can appear quite strange…

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

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Frank Sinatra filmed on a San Diego museum ship!

Did you know Frank Sinatra filmed a scene aboard the Maritime Museum of San Diego’s historic steam ferryboat Berkeley?

I had no idea until my visit to the museum today!

During the opening of the 1957 film Pal Joey, starring Rita Hayworth, Frank Sinatra and Kim Novak, the legendary crooner watches a pair of lady’s legs descend steps aboard what was then a San Francisco ferryboat.

If you watch this YouTube beginning at 2:53, you can see the historic ferry departing Oakland Pier to cross San Francisco Bay. You can then recognize several features of the ferryboat Berkeley as Sinatra does his thing.

Here’s a great website with photographs from the movie and the corresponding locales. You can see a train that pulled up to the Oakland Pier, where passengers would transfer their luggage onto the Berkeley.

What a cool, little-known bit of history!

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post fresh blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

It’s easy to explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on this website’s sidebar. Or click a tag. There’s a lot of stuff to share and enjoy!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!

From the deepest ocean dive . . . to San Diego!

Every so often, a very unusual, one-of-a-kind ship will dock on San Diego’s Embarcadero. Today I saw a unique ship with the peculiar name DSSV Pressure Drop, so I had to check it out!

It turns out DSSV (Deep Submersible Support Vessel) Pressure Drop, a privately owned ex-US Navy ship, is absolutely extraordinary! Last year its submersible, called Limiting Factor, made the deepest manned dive ever in Earth’s oceans–it descended 10,928 meters into the Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench!

This historic dive and others have produced important scientific research, such as mapping of the ocean floor and retrieval of deep sea specimens–including completely new species of living organisms!

The numerous exploits of DSSV Pressure Drop and its adventurous owner Victor Vescovo make for great reading. Here’s a recent article that provides a lot of background and detail.

I was told DSSV Pressure Drop will be hanging around San Diego for a couple of months, so if you happen to walk along the Embarcadero just north of the Maritime Museum of San Diego, keep your eyes peeled!

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Thank you for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often, so you might want to bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and check back from time to time.

You can explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on this website’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There’s a lot of stuff to share and enjoy!

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Sit close to a world famous musician–for free!

Where can you sit in an audience very close to one of the world’s top musicians, and do so for free?

You can in San Diego!

Today I happened to be walking by the San Diego Symphony’s outdoor Rady Shell at Embarcadero Marina Park South, when I noticed a crowd had gathered at tables right up close to the stage.

Smiling ladies at a San Diego Symphony table indicated a rehearsal was about to begin, and said I could sit in front! Because during open rehearsals at the Rady Shell, anybody can!

Once the other symphony musicians and conductor Rafael Payare settled in, world-renowned pianist Marc-André Hamelin began the incredible Second Piano Concerto by Liszt. And, wow! One can understand why the New York Times called him a performer of near-superhuman technical prowess.

Anyone who likes fine music would love attending on open rehearsal at The Shell. In addition to fantastic, world-class music, there is sunshine and spectacular views of downtown, San Diego Bay and Coronado.

Today, however, I was so entranced by the magic of a very famous, nearly superhuman pianist, I barely noticed the passing sailboats!

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Thank you for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often, so you might want to bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and check back from time to time.

You can explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on this website’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There’s a lot of stuff to share and enjoy!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!

Star of India’s restored figurehead rises!

History was made today in San Diego!

Star of India’s beautifully restored figurehead made its debut during the 159th birthday celebration of the historic ship!

The Greek Muse Euterpe emerged from the hold of Star of India, raised by a ship’s rope to the main deck. The graceful Muse of music and lyric poetry was shining like new. Applause broke out as a throng of Maritime Museum of San Diego members and visitors ate birthday cake and watched.

Then came the selfies! It was a once in a lifetime opportunity to be right up close to the classic ship’s figurehead.

In the coming days, museum volunteers will mount the restored figurehead to the bow of the historic Star of India, oldest active sailing ship in the world.

The restoration effort required over a thousand hours of careful work. To see photos I took earlier this year of the restoration in progress, click here!

UPDATE!

Two days later, George Sutherland, who has been in charge of restoring the historic figurehead, was applying epoxy in preparation for Euterpe’s return to the tall ship’s bow.

Water is an enemy of wood, so George was applying the epoxy very carefully, in such a way that water would not intrude and pool where it could do damage.

UPDATE!

The next Sunday, Euterpe was returned to her proper place–at the head of Star of India!

I missed the operation, but I saw her on Monday and took this pic…

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Thank you for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often, so you might want to bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and check back from time to time.

You can explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on this website’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There’s a lot of stuff to share and enjoy!

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Star of India’s restored figurehead to be unveiled!

For a long while, Star of India has been without her figurehead. That’s because the wooden figurehead, depicting Greek Muse Euterpe, has been undergoing badly needed restoration.

But now the work is completed! Euterpe will once again take her accustomed place on the bow of her historic ship!

There will be a public unveiling of the restored figurehead this coming Sunday, November 13. The big event coincides with Star of India’s 159th birthday. Check out the next photograph for details.

Yesterday I took a sneak peek of the completed project down in the hold of Star of India where the restoration work took place.

Euterpe is now flawless, bright, and absolutely beautiful!

But you’ll have to go see this Sunday for yourself!

You can learn more about this historic figurehead restoration, and see photos of the work in progress, by clicking here!

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Thank you for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often, so you might want to bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and check back from time to time.

You can explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on this website’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There’s a lot of stuff to share and enjoy!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!

Navy ship arrives downtown for Fleet Week!

Fleet Week San Diego is just about here. Many activities begin this weekend, and some are open to the general public!

I was walking along downtown’s Embarcadero yesterday when I saw a huge U. S. Navy ship, accompanied by two tugboats, gliding up to Broadway Pier. A small crowd had already gathered to watch it dock beside the Port Pavilion.

I believe this is the USS Montgomery (LCS-8), an Independence-class littoral combat ship. It’s unusual design includes a trimaran hull, which allows it to operate is more shallow water. The USS Montgomery is based here in San Diego.

Check out the photo of sailors tying up this huge, high-tech vessel with . . . mere ropes! (Whenever I see a gigantic billion dollar cruise ship relying on ropes, too, it always strikes me as a bit funny.)

The general public can go on free tours of this Navy ship this Friday through Sunday. See the details here!

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Thank you for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often, so you might want to bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and check back from time to time.

You can explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on this website’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There’s a lot of stuff to share and enjoy!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!