Much in San Diego will shut down starting tomorrow. I’ll still be working, but many San Diegans will not.
Schools throughout the city and county will be closed temporarily because of the coronavirus pandemic. So too will popular attractions, including the Maritime Museum of San Diego and the USS Midway Museum.
I walked along downtown’s waterfront today, wondering what I might see. A cruise ship was docked at the Broadway Pier, but I saw no passengers. I noticed that the Portside Pier construction is well along. It’s Sunday, so lots of volunteers were busy at the Maritime Museum, but I was one of very few visitors. The usual lines at the USS Midway ticket booth were practically nonexistent.
A few tourists were enjoying a day on the Embarcadero, snapping selfies, but I saw no parked tour buses.
Several people were fishing.
I’m afraid I couldn’t resist buying an ice cream.
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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!
The oldest active sailing ship in the world, Star of India, built in 1863 in Ramsey, Isle of Man, is presently resting inside a dry dock at San Diego’s BAE Systems shipyard!
I snapped a few photos during a harbor tour today!
I learned from a docent at the Maritime Museum of San Diego that the Star of India must periodically enter dry dock for a hull cleaning and inspection. After the cleaning removes algae and other material from the iron hull, the beautiful old merchant ship, stripped of excess weight, will float higher in the water!
I took these photos at a distance, but you can see the very unusual contrast: one of the world’s most famous tall ships, its masts soaring high above a huge dry dock, between modern Navy vessels!
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Lumber is prepared on the main deck of HMS Surprise during the famous tall ship’s redecking project.
During my Sunday visit to the Maritime Museum of San Diego, I noticed good progress has been made redecking HMS Surprise. While nobody was working on that project at the time, I was able to see some of the process that is required to put a beautiful, weather-resistant new deck on the amazing tall ship.
HMS Surprise was used in the filming of Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, starring Russell Crowe, one of the greatest epic films depicting the Age of Sail during the Napoleonic Wars. The ship is a replica of the 18th century Royal Navy frigate HMS Rose, and is just one of several world-famous ships and submarines you can step aboard at the Maritime Museum of San Diego.
As you can see in my photo of a sign, the museum welcomes new members, volunteers, docents, donors, and even sail crew! I can tell you that being a member is cool beyond description. I never tire of visiting the museum’s historical exhibits and many beautiful vessels.
An innovative decking technique that was successful on Star of India is also being used for HMS Surprise. It involves multiple epoxy layers, fiberglass layers and planking.The main deck of HMS Surprise is full of lumber, saws and other woodworking tools!In this photo you can see how some of the layered decking work is done.Another photo of the redecking in progress.Some of the hand tools.The finished decking on HMS Surprise’s quarterdeck is very beautiful and should endure sun, weather and the feet of curious visitors for many years.Volunteers head out to the museum’s barge with some lumber. There’s always more work to be done at the Maritime Museum of San Diego. Your help is appreciated!
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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 photos for you to enjoy!
Original vintage postcard shows Lindbergh’s San Diego-built Ryan plane over San Diego; Air Capital of the West.
A very cool exhibition titled “Wish You Were Here” is about to officially open at the Maritime Museum of San Diego. The colorful exhibit, which I experienced this evening aboard the 1898 steam ferryboat Berkeley, features vintage postcards of San Diego from a century ago.
A collection of authentic original postcards is displayed in glass cases; enlarged images from dozens of fascinating old postcards cover several walls.
Visitors to the exhibit will see depictions of popular destinations, famous attractions, Balboa Park, beaches, downtown, Coronado, La Jolla, and all sorts of unique places around San Diego County. Many of the hand-colored postcards show what life was like in our city in the early part of the 20th century.
The images for the wall displays were obtained from the Coronado Public Library, San Diego Air and Space Museum, San Diego History Center, and the archives of the Maritime Museum.
The official opening of “Wish You Were Here” will be on Saturday, November 16, 2019. On that special day representatives of the U.S. Postal Service will be at the museum from 11 am to 3 pm. Visitors will be able to get a collectible Maritime Museum of San Diego cancellation postmark on a special commemorative postcard!
The following photos provide a small taste of this amazing exhibit…
Many historical postcards are on display for the “Wish You Were Here” exhibit at the Maritime Museum of San Diego.Original postcard shows Ferry between Coronado and San Diego.Various postcards images that promote a visit to Star of India, the oldest iron sailing vessel afloat.Diverse themes in the postcard exhibit include beach fun and sailing.Bathing in the surf in winter.U. S. Sailors Life “Sport aboard Ship.”Lake at Lakeside, near San Diego.Carriso Gorge showing track skirting mountain side in the distance, on San Diego and Arizona Railway.Ruins of San Diego Mission.Ramona’s Marriage Place (Casa de Estudillo in Old Town), and monument where American flag was first raised in Southern California.International Panama-California Exposition, San Diego. Portion of the Pueblo Village.International Boundary Line, Tijuana, Mexico.Main Entrance of Wonderland Park, Ocean Beach.Aquaplaning, San Diego Bay.
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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 photos for you to enjoy!
These aren’t actual oil paintings. They’re photographs that I took last night along the Embarcadero, made to look like impressionistic oil paintings with GIMP graphic software.
Can you recognize many of these beautiful nighttime sights on San Diego Bay?
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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 evening I arrived at Waterfront Park right as the sun was setting behind Star of India and the ships of the Maritime Museum.
I walked to the inky bay, then turned south and strolled along the Embarcadero as the sunset slowly faded above the horizon.
I passed the Cruise Ship Terminal and paused near the foot of Broadway Pier to listen to some musicians, and gaze out at the Port Pavilion and USS Midway.
I then turned east down Broadway and quickened my pace as I headed for home.
My camera doesn’t take the best photographs in growing darkness, but I got a few pretty good ones this evening that I’d like to share…
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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!
Is there an old model ship in your attic? Perhaps a treasured family heirloom? Is it falling to pieces or in a terrible tangle? Would you like to restore it?
Today, during a visit to the Maritime Museum of San Diego, I learned of a group of dedicated model ship builders who are busy repairing and restoring old model ships!
The members of the San Diego Ship Modelers Guild love their hobby and hold regular meetings aboard the Maritime Museum ship Berkeley. I happened to be walking around the museum today before one of their evening meetings. I struck up a conversation with Guild Master James Pitt and was fascinated as he told me about various aspects of model ship building.
The San Diego Ship Modelers Guild, which was formed in 1971, has dozens of members hailing from all around Southern California and even Arizona. They have partnered with the Maritime Museum of San Diego, and guild members can often be seen working in the museum’s specially equipped Model Makers Workshop.
What interested me most was how the modeler’s guild has been repairing and restoring an increasing number of model ships of late. Many are family heirlooms passed down from previous generations, and are treasured for the memories and special meaning they embody.
If you have any sort of model ship that needs expert repair, check out the San Diego Ship Modelers Guild website by clicking here! Send them an email! I met a couple of the members and all were really nice guys!
I took some photos of a display for today’s meeting. You can see examples of model ships that have undergone restoration.
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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!
During my Sunday walk along the Embarcadero today, I paused at the Maritime Museum of San Diego to watch some fascinating activity. Crew members and museum volunteers were carefully raising one of HMS Surprise’s very heavy mizzenmast yards. They hauled ropes, checked critical knots, hauled some more, swung the yard up and across the quarterdeck, then lifted it straight into the sky.
The strenuous, methodical work aboard a tall ship is a complex dance.
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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!
Cool San Diego Sights! 