Tag: embarcadero

Star of India starts across San Diego Bay!

The world’s oldest active sailing ship, San Diego’s own legendary Star of India, is sailing this weekend! It has been five years since she headed out into the Pacific Ocean.

At 9 o’clock this morning, Maritime Museum of San Diego crew members cast off the ropes that held Star of India to the Embarcadero, and two tug boats commenced to tow her across the bay.

Once far out on the ocean, the beautiful Star would unfurl her majestic sails and become a white cloud floating on the blue. Unfortunately, nobody would see that from downtown–unless, perhaps, one could peer out into the watery distance from a high building.

Five years ago, from the end of Point Loma, I photographed the Star of India cruising out into the wide ocean. It was accompanied by other tall ships that make San Diego their home. See those photos here.

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Voyaging canoe Hōkūleʻa visits San Diego!

Polynesian Voyaging Society’s historic voyaging canoe Hōkūleʻa arrived in San Diego yesterday!

Hōkūleʻa is making its final port call during a long Pacific Ocean journey down the West Coast. For the next few days, you will be able to see the amazing ocean-going canoe docked at the Maritime Museum of San Diego!

Visitors to the Maritime Museum can tour the massive canoe on Friday, November 10, and Monday, November 13. See the sign that I photographed for the hours.

Click here to learn more about Hōkūle‘a. She was designed by artist and historian Herb Kawainui Kāne, one of the founders of the Polynesian Voyaging Society. The canoe was named Hōkūle‘a (“Star of Gladness”), a zenith star of Hawai‘i, which appeared to him growing ever brighter in a dream. This launching was one of many events that marked a generation of renewal for Hawai‘i’s indigenous people.

Does this voyaging canoe seem familiar? Five years ago, Hikianalia, the sister canoe of Hōkūle‘a, also visited the the Maritime Museum of San Diego. I blogged about that special weekend here.

When I walked past the canoe, crew members were washing down the deck getting everything ready for tomorrow’s visitors. Then I spotted them taking a group photo!

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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 X (formerly known as Twitter)!

Booklike floral mural painted at new RaDD.

Does anybody out there know anything about this new mural? It has been painted on one of the Research and Development District (RaDD) buildings now under construction on San Diego’s Embarcadero.

I noticed the unique mural today during my morning walk near Broadway and Harbor Drive. I took zoom photographs from a distance.

The floral artwork appears to open out of the glassy building like a book or document with many pages. The effect is very cool!

I’m not sure whether it’s finished yet.

If you know more about this mural, please leave a comment!

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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 X (formerly known as Twitter)!

World’s largest single-masted yacht at sunset!

M5, the world’s largest single-masted yacht, is presently docked at the 5th Avenue Landing superyacht marina behind the San Diego Convention Center.

M5 stands out from the other nearby superyachts. Its mast is so incredibly high, M5 cannot pass under any bridge that she can navigate to! That includes the San Diego-Coronado Bridge!

Read about the amazing yacht, which periodically visits San Diego, here.

This evening as the sun began to set, my walk along the south Embarcadero took me past M5. So I captured these photographs…

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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 X (formerly known as Twitter)!

Signs of Halloween’s approach in San Diego!

Spider webs, skeletons, monsters, pumpkins and jack-o’-lanterns!

Signs have popped up around San Diego indicating Halloween is around the corner!

I took these photos during a very long walk today. I wandered through downtown, Little Italy, Old Town and Bay Park…

A community pumpkin patch in Waterfront Park is readied by Parks and Recreation.

An ornate ceramic jack-o’-lantern in Old Town San Diego.

Sign promotes special event in Little Italy: Trick or Treat on India Street!

These horrific creatures appear a bit sleepy. I spotted them inside a window of the San Diego Visitor Information Center near Broadway Pier.

Yes! Halloween lights are right here. Get your black lights, fog machines and mirror balls!

Will the firefighters at Bayside Fire Station No. 2 use their ladder to save this dangling skeleton?

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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 X (formerly known as Twitter)!

The risen RaDD seen from San Diego Bay.

For well over a year, the Research and Development District (RaDD) has been rising on downtown San Diego’s waterfront. I’ve been watching the ongoing construction of this project and have posted photographs from time to time. In June I posted these.

I rode the Coronado ferry last weekend and got a good look at how San Diego’s skyline has been altered by RaDD, as seen from across the bay. (The above photo shows the long Tuna Harbor pier in the foreground.)

RaDD is a project of IQHQ. It’s described as a life science district–five new buildings occupying six city blocks–the largest urban commercial waterfront site on the West Coast. It appears to be nearing completion.

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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 X (formerly known as Twitter)!

Lobsterfest attracts hungry crowd in San Diego!

A large crowd has gathered on San Diego Bay today for Lobsterfest!

The big extravaganza for lobster lovers is taking place this morning on the pier between Seaport Village and Tuna Harbor–the same pier where the Tuna Harbor Dockside Market is held every Saturday.

Spiny lobsters on ice, freshly caught by local fishermen, are for sale to the public under a row of canopies.

Lobsters are also being prepared for eaters sitting at shady tables. The smell of lobsters on the grill is mouth-watering!

There’s even a band playing live music!

I walked along the pier this morning as Lobsterfest got underway and captured these photos…

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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 X (formerly known as Twitter)!

Star of India crew trains for historic sail!

Crew members of San Diego’s world-famous tall ship Star of India were training today for her upcoming journey into the wide Pacific Ocean!

Accompanied by a fleet of beautiful sailboats and Maritime Museum of San Diego vessels, Star of India will sail out beyond Point Loma on November 11th and 12th, 2023, to celebrate her 160th birthday!

This morning I stood on the Embarcadero watching the sail crew hauling at lines, raising a sail, and practicing the complicated dance that is required to maneuver the world’s oldest active sailing ship. The crew will be training each Sunday up until the big weekend next month.

If you want to buy tickets for Star of India’s historic sail, go to the Maritime Museum website here.

Enjoy my photographs, taken from the nearby boardwalk…

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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 X (formerly known as Twitter)!

Japanese Navy ships arrive in San Diego.

Two ships of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force docked today at San Diego’s Cruise Ship Terminal. I noticed them this afternoon during a walk along the Embarcadero.

Every couple years, it seems, I notice Japanese naval ships in San Diego harbor, paying a friendly visit. The vessels this year are training ship JS Kashima and the guided-missile destroyer JS Hatakaze.

According to this article, the ships are visiting many ports in the Americas. For those who are curious, the Kashima will be open to the public on Saturday, Sept. 23, from 10 a.m. to noon and from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. It’s the ship on the right (near the pier) in my photographs.

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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 X (formerly known as Twitter)!

Training ship Golden Bear departs San Diego.

I was walking along San Diego’s Embarcadero this morning when I noticed a large, very interesting ship departing from Broadway Pier. I like to gaze at unusual ships, while trying to deduce their function. Was this a research vessel of some sort?

When I got home, I learned the TS Golden Bear is a training ship used to train cadets attending the California State University Maritime Academy. The unique school, based in Vallejo, is part of the California State University system and the only maritime academy on the United States West Coast.

TS Golden Bear is actually the third training ship bearing the same name. This particular ship actually began its life in the late 1980s in the United States Navy as USNS Maury (T-AGS-39). At the time, the USNS Maury was the fastest and largest oceanographic ship in the United States fleet. Read more about the TS Golden Bear here.

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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!