A few vessels the public can visit during the San Diego Wooden Boat Festival at the Koehler Kraft boatyard on Shelter Island.
Yesterday I headed over to Shelter Island to check out the annual San Diego Wooden Boat Festival. The event is taking place all Father’s Day weekend at the Koehler Kraft boatyard. Proceeds from the festival help out local charities.
Koehler Kraft is where many wooden boat owners head if their vessel needs a repair or upgrade. The boatyard was founded in 1938. I enjoyed poking around the place, and examining some very cool vintage wooden boats. There were also beautiful newer boats, and a few had unusual, fascinating designs.
Enjoy my photos and read the captions to learn more!
A look at the Koehler Kraft boatyard from a platform that juts out over the edge of Shelter Cove Marina in Americas Cup Harbor.People walk out to look at some wooden boats during a very cool festival on Shelter Island.Koehler Kraft’s San Diego Wooden Boat Festival is taking place on Father’s Day weekend.Various boats in the boatyard are being worked on. Some displays show the public how wooden boats are made.One can see the exposed framework of this small wooden boat.Inside the Koehler Kraft building are several more wooden boats. The big one being worked on is Siwash, a 1910 yawl that held the round Catalina time record for 27 years.Friendly folks show off lots of cool stuff at Koehler Kraft.I love how wood is everywhere. Working here must be a woodworker’s dream.Another boat is being worked upon. The varnished wood is simply beautiful.Now we’re outside again, looking down at the water where many boats crafted from wood await.Boats can be moved into and out of the water using these old rails and a wheeled platform.The Marjorie is an elegant wooden boat.Visitors to the San Diego Wooden Boat Festival check out a variety of interesting vessels.This small boat is named Tom. It’s a 2015 catboat. Carvel planked Port Oxford cedar on white oak frames.Water reflects rippled light on the smooth stern of Old Glory.Some guys and a dog on the deck of Sally, of the San Diego Yacht Club.Wooden boats have amazing character. Even the weathering adds personality.One’s eyes can take delight in these boats all day long.I believe I’ve seen the Patricia Belle at the yearly Festival of Sail. It’s a schooner cargo type boat built in 1998.Everyone is checking out these great boats!Someone peers down into a beautiful wooden sailboat.
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Late this afternoon I walked along the Embarcadero. People were out and about, strolling, lingering by the water. My camera found magic, wonder and warmth.
Doing a bit of work on a boat in Marriott Marina.Strolling along San Diego’s waterfront on a warm late Friday afternoon.A pedicab driver relaxes while awaiting some business.Something interesting must be down in the water.Three friends walk along the Embarcadero.Two friends share a moment.On green grass, under a green tree.Silver light and a dreamlike sailboat.
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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!
This old rusty steel skeleton of a ship is actually one of two cool sculptures near the Pier 32 Marina in National City.
Check out these two very cool sculptures! I spotted them as I walked from a National City trolley station to Pepper Park yesterday, on my way to the big International Mariachi Festival.
Both of these sculptures are located at the Pier 32 Marina. And both are a lot of fun!
This huge metal sculpture by the marina flags is called Le Bateau Ivre, by artist Alber De Matteis, 2008.More detailed photo of this work of awesome nautical art! Looks like a ghost ship!The second sculpture, just down a pathway, is School of Blue Bottle Noses, by artist David Boyer, 2008. It was part of an Urban Trees exhibition on San Diego’s Embarcadero.Those blue Bottlenoses are actually bottles! Like a pod of turning dolphins, they shift direction in the wind!
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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!
You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of fun photos for you to share and enjoy!
View from the Top of the Hyatt. The Marriott Marquis and its marina can be seen below, sparkling in the San Diego sunshine.
Perhaps the best view of downtown San Diego can be enjoyed through two observation windows on the 40th floor of the Manchester Grand Hyatt. Stand on Harbor Drive and face the beautiful hotel–the older, taller tower on the left is where you need to go.
Take the guest elevator to the 40th floor after 3pm, to the bar at the Top of the Hyatt, and the two observation windows await on either side of the elevator. No need to enter the bar.
Check out the amazing views to the north and to the south!
At the top of this 497 foot tower, the highest waterfront building on the West Coast, one can peer through two observation windows and enjoy phenomenal views of San Diego.Approaching the south observation window on the 40th floor of the Manchester Grand Hyatt.Looking to the south across San Diego Bay and past the Coronado Bay Bridge.From the same window, gazing to the southeast. A portion of downtown is visible. San Miguel Mountain and Otay Mountain rise in the distance.At the other window, looking northwest, past the hotel’s second tower, one can see a slice of San Diego Bay and Point Loma.To the north one can see another part of downtown, adjacent to the North Embarcadero.Written on the window are words from a popular children’s book. Oh the places you’ll go. Dr. Seuss.
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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!
You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of fun photos for you to share and enjoy!
A seagull stands atop a pile of nets and floats on San Diego’s picturesque G Street Pier.
You won’t believe all the birds I identified today during my walk along the Embarcadero. You really will not believe it!
Check out these fun flighty photos taken beside beautiful San Diego Bay!
American coots (also called mud hens) stand on rocks near the Marriott Marina.A Canada goose on San Diego’s Embarcadero! Now that’s a very unusual sight! This bird seems to have joined a local flock of American coots. Maybe it was blown off course during the recent windy storm.Another strange bird near the sparkling water about to take flight! Oops. My mistake.A female black-crowned night heron among rocks near the Embarcadero Marina Park South pier.A gathering of pigeons on the grass at Embarcadero Marina Park North.Rare exotic birds photographed in flight! Oops. Those are actually colorful kites. Fooled me again!I’ve arrived at Seaport Village. Okay, I’m certain these are real birds–maybe. Looks like a parrot, flamingo and some egrets.Gulls, pelicans and sea lions await handouts of leftover fish parts. Early Saturday afternoon, and the Tuna Harbor Dockside Market is wrapping up.Two sneaky gulls with hungry, watchful eyes.There’s gotta be some yummy fish scraps here somewhere!Commercial fishermen unload on the small dock behind this gate at Tuna Harbor. Birds wait eternally here, too!A bird in the sky above broad-winged sailboats flying across San Diego Bay.Seabirds love hanging out around the fishing vessels at Tuna Harbor.A snowy egret near the net of a live bait catching purse seiner.A double-crested cormorant flaps its wings in the water of San Diego Bay near the USS Midway.Birds above an ocean wave, painted on a ceramic tile by a young person. Many fun tile benches along the Embarcadero were created for a project called Celebrating the Big Bay in 2004.Many birds in flight.
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Just sitting on a bench at the Chula Vista Marina. Masts of sailboats touch the clear sky. Another sunny day by the water.
Last Saturday morning I did some walking around the Chula Vista Marina and the neighboring Bayside Park. It was a perfect day for a leisurely stroll. Sunlight reflected from the water onto the smooth shiny hulls of boats. A forest of masts tickled the blue sky.
I sat down for awhile to drink in the calm and beauty. Another reason to love San Diego!
The Chula Vista Marina and adjacent Bayside Park are perfect places to relax and recreate.An abstract sculpture near the Dockmaster’s Office.The sculpture is titled To Remember Me, by Ross Barrable, 2001. In tribute to Ron McElliott who believed in the potential of the South Bay.Some street art on a nearby utility box depicts a tall ship on the ocean.Sitting at a table by the marina feeding the birds.Hundreds of sailboats and pleasure craft in the Chula Vista Yacht Harbor await an opportunity to glide across San Diego Bay.Walking the dog across Chula Vista Bayside Park’s fishing pier, next to the marina.A fisherman out on San Diego Bay. The Coronado Cays are visible across the calm blue water.A happy sun shines on the marina building.A beautiful fountain on the grass near the Chula Vista Marina office.
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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!
Rowers head across San Diego’s Mission Bay on a sunny Saturday morning.
My long walk yesterday around Mission Bay yielded lots of photos. I started at Vacation Isle, then headed slowly and somewhat aimlessly to the jetty at the end of Hospitality Point. It was a journey through a tranquil San Diego paradise, on a warm winter day. My photos feature relatively few people. But I can assure you thousands of folks were out enjoying the sunshine. They were fishing, boating, picnicking, reading, walking, playing sports on the grass… Mission Bay is a really big place.
Radio control model sailboats cross the Model Boat Pond on Vacation Isle.Many canoes and kayaks were passing under the Ingraham Street Bridge between South Cove and Perez Cove, not far from SeaWorld.These fire pits just north of Dana Landing have wood stacked ready for Saturday night.A casual seat on the dirt with great views.A heron on rocks, and reflections of boats at Dana Landing.Gazing from the West Mission Bay Drive Bridge down descending stairs toward Sunset Point.People return from an excursion out on the Pacific Ocean. The dock at Seaforth Sportfishing is always busy.Visitors walk through Marina Village on Mission Bay.A map by Quivira Basin shows areas off the coast that are protected. Conserving California’s Coastal Treasure.Kicking back with a best friend among boats on the blue water. In the distance you can see the Hyatt Regency Mission Bay Spa and Marina.Colorful kayaks await at Aqua Adventures.This tropical party shack seems long abandoned. It stands near an entrance to Mission Bay Marina.A dirt nature trail along the channel that connects the ocean and Mission Bay.Rare and Remarkable. This area displays Coastal sand dune vegetation. The native Beach lotus is endangered.Walking along the jetty west of Hospitality Point. This narrow strip of land separates the San Diego River, to the left, from the man-made channel into Mission Bay. One can see a sliver of Ocean Beach, on the left, and Mission Beach, on the right.A fisherman on land, and two on the water. Across the Entrance Channel lies very popular South Mission Beach.Bicycling along. Heading toward the end of the long jetty. It’s a beautiful day. One can see forever.
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I wrote another short story! I penned it yesterday, during my walk along the bay.
It’s a bittersweet, philosophical, tiny piece of fiction. The sort of thing I like to write. There’s some sadness in the sunshine. The title is Light on the Restless and Small.
