Gulls take flight beside San Diego Bay, just north of Grape Street Pier.
Off work early again. So I took a pleasant walk along San Diego Bay’s Crescent area, between the Grape Street Pier and the Coast Guard Station. This part of the North Embarcadero is a bit ragged and sleepy, but there’s plenty of color and sunshine.
Someone stands by the water one late winter afternoon gazing at moored boats in the Crescent area of San Diego Bay.Corroded plaque on a planter near wood benches recalls the dedication of Embarcadero Promenade in 1985. Over thirty years later, the area is a bit ragged, but a fine place to sit and enjoy the ocean breeze and scenery.Looking south across the bay toward the downtown skyline. One could sit here and enjoy the San Diego sunshine all afternoon.Cool boat has futuristic wings instead of canvas sails.Fishing from the small dock behind the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary shack on the North Embarcadero.Some folks return to dry land from their boat home moored on the calm bay.A small row boat appears to have capsized. Other dinghies have pools of collected water.A field of sailboat masts under beautiful wispy afternoon clouds.
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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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Last chance to enjoy Anthony’s at the waterfront. 70 years of great memories and seafood at Anthony’s Fish Grotto, which will close on January 31, 2017.
Time is running out. Anthony’s Fish Grotto on San Diego’s waterfront will be closing at the end of next January. The restaurant has produced fond memories for millions of people over the course of its 70 year history. You have one last chance to enjoy this wonderful, unique place before it’s torn down.
Next year, the Brigantine will introduce a new restaurant at this scenic location, right next to the Star of India. I was told by a gentleman who sells art on the sidewalk nearby that the new Brigantine building is now under construction, and will be brought in across San Diego Bay on a ship or barge. That would certainly be a sight to behold!
Late yesterday morning I walked down to the Embarcadero to devour some french fries and a yummy tuna melt at Anthony’s outdoor Fishette. I sat on the wood deck dipping my fries in tartar sauce and breathing in the fresh air. I simply gazed out at the water. Pleasant visions floated on the sparkling blue, including a visiting cruise ship and San Diego Yacht Club sailboats. Between licking my fingers, I took a few photos.
Anthony’s has been a fixture on San Diego’s Embarcadero for 70 years. But their lease ran out and the Brigantine will soon build a new restaurant at this location.I’ve stood in this line many times. This is a favorite spot for tourists and locals alike.Eating seafood on benches inside a protected area of the informal outdoor Fishette, over the gently lapping water of San Diego Bay.Funny sign over the Fishette soda machine shows two fish in love.I’ll attest that Mama Ghio’s secret tartar sauce is a tasty concoction!Anthony’s Fish Grotto opened in 1946, right after World War II. I remember eating here many times as a child.Another photo of the small casual Fishette. I prefer dining outside, but many enjoy the more formal Fish Grotto restaurant, which occupies the interior of the building.In my opinion, some of the best seats in San Diego.A gull was patiently watching my fries.Activity on San Diego Bay included a refueling cruise ship. Those guys in the boat fishing were being watched by a circling sea lion.Here comes the Maritime Museum of San Diego’s historic Pilot boat, out on a harbor tour. Those sailboats racing in the distance belong to the San Diego Yacht Club.I love this place. It will be sad to see it go. (In this photo you can see the concrete posts where the Fish Grotto’s boat dock used to be. It was destroyed in that ferocious El Nino windstorm that I blogged about in early February.)Another beautiful day on the Embarcadero. Time marches on.
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Playing catch with a dog on the small beach at Spanish Landing Park. A sailboat moves through Harbor Island’s West Basin, heading out to San Diego Bay.
A wide path for walkers and bicyclists runs from San Diego’s Embarcadero to Spanish Landing. While the portion between the Coast Guard station and Harbor Island Drive isn’t terribly scenic (it’s located right next to Harbor Drive and a lot of airport traffic), the section that meanders through Spanish Landing Park provides a peaceful, pleasant stroll. And a chance to learn a bit about San Diego’s history!
Today I took a long walk up the sunny path. Here are some photos. I pulled out my camera near Lindbergh Field and kept snapping pics all the way to the west end of Spanish Landing Park. (And beyond, as you’ll see in coming blog posts!)
As usual, please refer to the captions. You might note that Spanish Landing received its name because the 1769 expedition by Spanish explorer Gaspar de Portolá anchored in San Diego Bay near this place. The bay was much different back then–in modern times it has been extensively dredged and expanded. Indeed, Harbor Island, which you see in some photos, was originally a sandbank! Harbor Island today is composed of dredge spoils.
A long path along Harbor Drive runs from the Embarcadero in downtown San Diego to Spanish Landing. Bicyclists head up the path on a sunny weekend.This mural can be spotted across Harbor Drive as one approaches Lindbergh Field. Painted on the commuter terminal by Jari “Werc” Alvarez, it spells SAN, the code for San Diego International Airport.The path, near the edge of San Diego Bay, is part of the California Coastal Trail. It’s ideal for walking or biking from downtown to Spanish Landing Park, and beyond.A photo with my camera lifted toward the sky on a fine Saturday in mid-October.A quick photo of Cancer Survivors Park, on the east end of Spanish Landing Park. I’ve blogged about this special place a couple of times.Kayak heads across the water toward boats docked at a Harbor Island marina. Hotels on Harbor Island are resting on soil dredged up from the bay.I remember hearing the Callaway Carillon bell tower near the center of Spanish Landing Park when I was a child. I believe it no longer works. I hope I’m wrong.Plaque near base of the electronic bell tower. The Callaway Carillon is presented to the Port of San Diego by Thearle Music Company Associates . . . 1973Walkers pause on the path through Spanish Landing to read a California Historical Landmark plaque near the water.Spanish Landing. Near this point, sea and land parties of the Portola-Serra Expedition met. Two ships, the San Antonio and San Carlos, anchored on May 4-5, 1769.A bit further up the path is a playground and a popular spot for parties and celebrations on the nearby grass.Bronze artwork near the path through Spanish Landing honors those who lost their lives, during the sea journey by Gaspar de Portolá up the coast, two and a half centuries ago.Dedicated to the heroic Spaniards who gave their lives and were buried near this site in 1769-70, after accompanying Gaspar de Portolá, the first Governor of California, in the exploration of California from San Diego to San Francisco.Many benches along Spanish Landing Park provide views of the peaceful water and nearby Harbor Island.Bicyclists near the west end of Spanish Landing Park. By crossing the North Harbor Drive Bridge, one can enter Point Loma.The North Harbor Drive Bridge was dedicated in June 1980.Paddleboarders float down the boat channel, between North Harbor Drive Bridge and the adjacent Nimitz Bridge, which is now used by pedestrians. The grass in the distance is part of the Liberty Station Esplanade.People rest on a bench at the west end of Spanish Landing Park, gazing out at a beautiful scene.Sailboats, paddleboards and boats of every type out on blue San Diego Bay. The Pacific Ocean lies just beyond the peninsula of Point Loma, in the distance.
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ICSA Women’s Semifinals on San Diego Bay. Competing sailboats approach downtown’s Cruise Ship Terminal.
Check out these cool photos!
I was walking along the Embarcadero early this evening when I saw dozens of tiny sailboats out racing on silvery San Diego Bay. I noticed the sails featured the letters SDYC, which stands for San Diego Yacht Club.
When I got home, an internet search revealed that I had been observing the first day of ICSA Women’s Semifinals action. San Diego is the location of the 2016 College Sailing / Sperry Women’s Nationals. The 36 sailboats that I watched represent top universities from all around the United States, which are competing through Friday right here on our beautiful bay! Winner takes home the coveted Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association’s Gerald C. Miller Trophy!
Small sailboats float on rippled silver, beneath dramatic clouds.Shining sails dance in the wind, as paired sailors from 36 colleges around the country compete in the Women’s Nationals.A zoomed photo of the sailboats dancing across San Diego Bay.The San Diego Yacht Club sailboats approach the Embarcadero, having just passed the finish line.These sailors were among the leaders. The top 18 semifinalist teams will move on to the finals.A very cool sight during a random walk along the water before sunset!The leading sailboats approach San Diego’s Cruise Ship Terminal. Gleaming skyscrapers rise in the background.The leaders from this race appeared to line up in finishing order. Fascinated, I watched from the Broadway Pier.And then a few minutes later they were off again! A gull watches sails dip and tack in the sea breeze, like fluttering white wings.A team that competed in College Sailing’s ICSA Women’s Semifinals starts back across San Diego Bay before night falls.
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Magic before your eyes. A wind-stretched red sail on sparkling San Diego Bay.
Dancing sails and colorful banners reflected upon water are magic. Tilting, shining, billowing, flowing, taut, wind-driven, powerful, gentle, mysterious, magical.
Color painted on canvas is art. But dancing color upon water has strange profound depth. It’s the merging of wind and water; of light and substance. Swelling, vibrating. It has a heartbeat.
I heard no sound as a large sailboat approached.It’s USA 11, the Stars and Stripes. This America’s Cup racing yacht competed in 1992. She can be chartered for sailing adventures.The sail stretches a hundred feet into the blue sky. Dancing in sunshine, turning on the water.Magic white sails on a blue bay. The city of San Diego is near, but far away.Even small sails need care. They will work powerful magic, take you where you will.Lone dark form upon gray water. A strange apparition.Reflections of flags at stern of USS Midway dance upon still water.Colorful banners moved by a wild wind. Like strange, silent dreams in the liquid blue.Unending dreams.Adjusting a magic sail as one boat moves forward in space.
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Member of the San Diego Argonauts gets ready to place a small sailboat into Vacation Isle’s model yacht pond.
A silvery sheet of water near the center of Vacation Isle is where dreams take sail. Tiny dreams with tiny sails.
Today I took a long meandering walk about Mission Bay, and spent a fair amount of time lingering around what is simply called the model yacht pond. Connected to the bay with an underground pipe, the pond rises and falls with the ocean’s tides. The tranquil sheet of saltwater, surrounded by grass, trees and the many picnic benches of Vacation Isle Park, has been enjoyed by model boat hobbyists for over half a century.
A very cool club called the San Diego Argonauts utilizes the model yacht pond for radio control model boating and racing. Every Saturday morning, their Scale Boat Division runs electric and steam-powered craft on the pond. Many of the tiny vessels are remarkably detailed, even museum quality. One tiny tugboat even blew its horn at me while I took some photographs!
Saturday afternoons is when the wind-driven sailboats come out to compete or practice. The Sail Division of the San Diego Argonauts has many skippers who’ve won National Championships!
Today I saw so many sails at once, I could hardly believe it! The model yacht pond was the scene of a glorious regatta. These model boat sails tack by remote control, so racing around the tiny floating buoys requires many of the same strategies as racing a full-size sailboat!
On Sunday the pond features model power boats, which can reach speeds of 60 miles per hour! I’ll definitely have to check that out one weekend! I’ll take pictures!
Model boating is a fascinating, beautiful hobby to watch. I’ll bet it’s a lot of fun building a boat and watching it float across this magical pond!
A scale boat enthusiast spends part of his Saturday in San Diego’s sunny Vacation Isle Park.Two electric-powered model boats navigate by radio control across the smooth pond.This small tugboat blew it’s horn as I took this photo!A model sailboat is made ready. The friendly guy who owns this boat showed me how the sails are moved by remote control.Another member of the San Diego Argonauts wheels his sailboat down to the bank of the model yacht pond.Wading out, in order to place one model sailboat into the water.The miniature boats look beautiful on the gleaming water. They operate in the ocean breeze much like actual sailboats.Three model sailboats tack to go around a tiny buoy.The model yacht pond can be found near the center of San Diego’s huge Mission Bay Park, which is the largest urban aquatic park in the United States.Many sails float dreamlike across the blue water.A fun day in the park for young and old alike.
Fishing from sailboat moored in Crescent area of San Diego Bay.
Before the Trolley Dances began this morning, I walked for a stretch beside the quiet water, between Grape Street and the Coast Guard Station. It was an ordinary morning on San Diego Bay, in an area where few tourists venture. I photographed some typical scenes of real life.
People and dog climb into a small dinghy from floating dock.Man rows boat across the water. A typical scene of city life on the North Embarcadero.Homeless man stretches out on a public bench beside the water.Looking out across the blue water. Hangars of U.S. Coast Guard Air Station San Diego can be seen in the distance.Working on the weekend. A guy pushes a bunch of bright yellow floats out onto a pier.
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Sailboat in a puddle of light behind the tall ship Pilgrim. Friday draws to an end at the Festival of Sail, on San Diego’s Embarcadero.
After work, I got off the trolley at Little Italy and walked down to the Embarcadero. I hoped to see a little of the Festival of Sail. Today was the first day of the big annual event!
Even though I missed the Parade of Sail across San Diego Bay, which took place in the afternoon, I managed to get a bit lucky! The day’s activities were over, the crowds had dissipated, and I didn’t need a ticket to enjoy a leisurely stroll alongside the many beautiful tall ships! Later this weekend I’ll buy a ticket during event hours and board the ships. Stay tuned!
Until then, here are some photos of what I saw…
The Port of San Diego and the Maritime Museum are presenting the 2015 Festival of Sail, with lots of cool visiting tall ships, cannon battles, and other nautical stuff.Photographer near the HMS Surprise takes a photo of masts along the waterfront. Many tall ships are docked just beyond the museum’s Steam Ferry Berkeley.I saw a number of people wearing old-fashioned costumes, including these folks riding a bike and a big-wheeled penny-farthing along the water!Members of the United States Navy came jogging down the Embarcadero as the day came to an end in San Diego!The sun descends behind clouds. Many high masts, yards, ropes and fluttering banners add character to beautiful San Diego Bay at the Festival of Sail.Two crew members work high in the rigging of the Amazing Grace tall ship.The 2015 Festival Sail runs through Labor Day weekend. You’ll find it downtown at the awesome Maritime Museum of San Diego!
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