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.
Masts of a few visiting tall ships during 2015 Festival of Sail, at the Maritime Museum of San Diego.
The 2015 Festival of Sail is underway! The cool event runs through Labor Day and takes place on the Embarcadero at the Maritime Museum of San Diego. This morning I got some photos!
The popular festival, which is held every year in late summer, features a large gathering of beautiful tall ships. A few belong to the museum; others are visiting San Diego for this very special occasion.
Last year I wrote several detailed blogs and covered many of the tall ships which I saw again today. So this year I figured I’d just mosey from ship to ship, taking random photos, not worrying too much about jotting down gobs of information. Here’s the result…
The brig Pilgrim, approximate replica of the historic ship Richard Henry Dana sailed in, is visiting San Diego again for the annual tall ship festival.Visitors enjoy touring the deck of the Pilgrim on Sunday morning. It’s another sunny summer day on blue San Diego Bay!Ship’s navigation light and galley. Signs on the Pilgrim describe life on the sea a couple centuries ago, when Two Years Before the Mast was written by Dana.Kayaks on the smooth water cruise past a collection of very cool tall ships.Plaque on tall ship American Pride indicates that down below is the Captain’s Quarters.Close look at wooden steering wheel of the American Pride.Volunteer crew members of American Pride assembled on deck as their fine ship visits San Diego.Lion’s head decorates spar projecting from hull of topsail schooner Amazing Grace.A visitor at 2015 Festival of Sail in San Diego looks down into the cabin of Amazing Grace.A second floating dock and even more cool tall ships can be seen beyond Amazing Grace.Curious eyes peer below deck of the Bill of Rights, perhaps wondering what it would be like to live in very close quarters while at sea.Bill of Rights tall ship crew members were dressed in seafaring garb. This pirate had a collection of pistols and a small cannon on display.Star motif on a block used by a single rope in some complicated rigging. Masts of another nearby tall ship rise in the background.To step off the Bill of Rights one must walk the plank!Stern of Bill of Rights seen from rear deck of the brigantine Irving Johnson.Photo of ship’s cabin containing shelves of books, a globe and navigational charts.Friendly crew member on the Exy Johnson was playing familiar seagoing tunes on a concertina.It appears this ladder has seen a great deal of usage and weather.Festival of Sail visitors check out many cool sights! I see someone climbing one of the Irving Johnson’s shrouds!Watch out! This wild-eyed pirate has two wicked swords! Run for it!Looking at more ships docked behind the Maritime Museum’s historic Steam Ferry Berkeley. I see masts of the San Salvador, Californian and America.American flag in deep blue sky curls in the pleasant sea breeze.I saw various folks in period costumes. This lady had a nice smile!Another photo of the ships behind the Berkeley. The red star is on the museum’s B-39 Soviet diesel submarine which operated during the Cold War.A land battery took part during the festival’s cannon battles. A beautiful tall ship heads across the bay.View of historic bark Star of India from deck of HMS Surprise.Someone checks out the high masts of HMS Surprise, the ship used in the filming of Master and Commander starring Russell Crowe.Written on the ship’s bell is HMS Rose, the original name of the Surprise.Two members of the Royal Guard enjoy a drink and snack on San Diego’s Embarcadero during the Festival of Sail. They must be on shore leave.White sails, wooden ships, blue sky and living visions of a rich maritime history.Kids on deck of Star of India watch a cannon battle on San Diego Bay.
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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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The amazing replica of explorer Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo’s galleon San Salvador is now docked at the Maritime Museum of San Diego, adjacent to their B-39 Soviet submarine.
The San Salvador, a full size replica of the historic Spanish galleon sailed by explorer Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo up the coast of California, is now docked at the Maritime Museum of San Diego! I believe the museum’s newest ship arrived a couple days ago!
This morning was the very first time I saw the vessel on San Diego’s Embarcadero. Docked next to the museum’s B-39 Soviet-era Russian submarine, the San Salvador appears small compared to the other nearby tall ships. But the gentleman rowing the longboat in the next photograph informed me that she’ll really blossom once fully rigged and under sail. The San Salvador will then appear almost as large and amazing as the Californian, which is docked right across from it!
Looks like the San Salvador is ready in time for this Labor Day weekend’s Festival of Sail. On Friday she will lead a magnificent parade of visiting tall ships across San Diego Bay!
Gentleman from the Maritime Museum rows a longboat under ramp which leads to the HMS Surprise and other historic ships.Full size replica of Spanish galleon San Salvador, seen beyond the dock of Anthony’s Fish Grotto on San Diego’s Embarcadero.
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San Diego County Supervisor Dave Roberts begins the Moby Dick Marathon Reading on the poop deck of the Star of India.
The Star of India is the world’s oldest ship that sails. It’s docked in San Diego Bay. Yesterday, from the barque’s 150 year old deck, a rare white whale was glimpsed like a snowy hill in the air, far, far away. The whale was just visible, a dim revelation, at the edge of human sight.
Mysterious and sublime, the elusive Moby Dick was seen by a fortunate few in the imagination’s eye, as readers took turns speaking words on pages that were written over a century ago by the great American author Herman Melville.
The wonderful Moby Dick Marathon Reading commenced at noon, and continued far into the dark night. The event was put on by the Maritime Museum of San Diego and Write Out Loud. I swung on by a few times, breathed in the mood, the salt air. I love the novel. It might be my favorite. I love the idea of reading atop the swelling sea, about a bright phantom moving darkly below, down in the unfathomable depths.
The Maritime Museum of San Diego and Write Out Loud created a cool event that hopefully becomes a yearly tradition.Diagram of Bark Star of India, launched as Euterpe on November 14, 1863 at Ramsey, Isle of Man. The world’s oldest active sailing ship and oldest merchantman afloat.An ageless volume of classic literature, published in 1851, shortly before the construction of this ship, was brought to life by many readers.Call me Ishmael. Some years ago—never mind how long precisely—having little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me on shore, I thought I would sail…Listeners follow Melville’s words with their own beloved books, or gaze out at the water on a fine summer day on San Diego’s Embarcadero.Kids walk up onto Star of India’s high poop deck. Perhaps the eyes of youth, probing the horizon, can discern the strange wonder of Moby Dick.Or age with its collected wisdom, staring into thin pages, might glimpse the white whale.White sails, yards, shrouds, ropes and open blue sky.Illustration on plaque found on main deck, showing a Pull on the Lee ForeBraces. The sails must be kept to the wind.Passionate reader turns the pages of Moby Dick. Melville describes many large cetaceans in the oceans of the world, but only one great white whale, nemesis of Captain Ahab.Painting of Star of India under sail by marine artist Frederick Wetzel. The historic three-masted bark is shown clearing Point Loma during a festive event back in 1984.Steering wheel and binnacle, instruments of navigation used by generations of restless, active seafaring men.The stern of our beautiful Star of India. A gigantic American flag billows in the sea breeze.A reader awaits his turn. Ishmael recalls his strange voyage side by side with varied characters, representatives of the human race, including a humane cannibal and a tyrannical captain.The sun’s horizontal rays splash sails with gold as another day nears an end.Ahab addresses Starbuck and crew: …it was Moby Dick that dismasted me…I’ll chase him round Good Hope, and round the Horn..and round perdition’s flames before I give him up…Vengeance on a dumb brute! cried Starbuck, that simply smote thee from blindest instinct! Madness! To be enraged with a dumb thing, Captain Ahab, seems blasphemous…Photo taken from wooden bench, over a skylight which provides filtered daylight for the ship’s elegant saloon below.Reading on into the twilight. Once begun, the great novel drives forward, pulling readers into its tragic quest for an unpredictable, dangerous unknown.Shadow moves across the deep.As the sun sets, by sheer chance it seems, Chapter 37 of Moby Dick is begun, titled Sunset.Light shines from behind the figurehead of the beautiful Star of India, a favorite attraction on San Diego Bay.Is that lone bird an albatross flown from Melville’s great novel? No, just a common gull in the dying light.The sky through ship’s rigging is tinged orange, red, purple and gold.Night comes on. Melville has already referenced the blackness of darkness. He now speaks about the whiteness of the whale, and the majestic, pure, terrifying color white.It was the whiteness of the whale that above all things appalled me.Before inevitable night falls and stars emerge, glowing color paints the world.Masts of tall ship Californian, of the Maritime Museum of San Diego, and a brilliant sunset. Unlike a fictional whale, these profoundly beautiful things are quite easily seen.
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San Salvador, a close reproduction of explorer Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo’s historic galleon, undergoes final preparation at Spanish Landing in San Diego.
San Salvador’s masts and bowsprit have been installed!
I swung by the amazing ship’s build site this morning after doing a couple errands in Point Loma. Additional work was underway on the bowsprit, and the hull appears almost finished. One gentleman was painting white Roman numerals on the bow which will indicate the ship’s depth.
Complications and unforeseen difficulties have delayed the launch of the Spanish galleon, but now the full-scale, seaworthy replica of explorer Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo’s historic ship is almost ready to be placed into San Diego Bay!
As I write this, very little updated information can be found concerning the upcoming launch of San Salvador. When the ship was weighed some months ago, it came in at 20 tons more than expected. Due to logistics, plans to use a crane to transport the ship to Broadway Pier were necessarily altered, then ultimately discarded.
I received some info on the museum’s new plan during a short conversation with Al Sorkin, aka Captain Swordfish, a few days ago while I was walking along the Embarcadero. He indicated the San Salvador will be turned, then rolled over a temporary bridge onto a barge behind Harbor Island. The barge will then transport the galleon to a local shipyard, where a crane will finally hoist San Salvador into San Diego Bay.
The plan, as I understood it, is to add ballast and complete the ship’s rigging while it’s docked by the Maritime Museum. I also heard that the museum hopes San Salvador is ready to lead other tall ships into San Diego Bay for the ceremonial parade at this year’s Festival of Sail! That would be very cool!
Maritime Museum of San Diego volunteers work on the bowsprit, before San Salvador is eventually moved onto a barge, then hoisted at a local shipyard into the bay.A temporary “bridge” will be built across this path in the coming weeks to allow the large San Salvador Spanish galleon to be rolled onto a barge.While the masts are now in, yards are still being prepared. As I understand it, they’ll be installed along with the ballast, once San Salvador is afloat near the Maritime Museum.Guys work on the bowsprit in early July. The hope is that San Salvador leads the 2015 Festival of Sail’s parade of tall ships into San Diego Bay!
UPDATE!
As of 7/29/15, the San Salvador is afloat on San Diego Bay! A week ago a barge transported the replica galleon to Chula Vista in our South Bay, where today it was lifted into the water. I learned this afternoon that in fact the ballast will be added and rigging completed in Chula Vista, in a place that is closed to the public. The ship will have to undergo extensive testing by the Coast Guard before being declared seaworthy. It’s still hoped everything will be completed in time for the Festival of Sail, which takes place in a little over a month!
Sign at entrance to San Salvador build site. You have a couple more weeks to visit before the replica galleon’s historic launch into San Diego Bay.
Yesterday I enjoyed a tour of something so unbelievably cool it almost defies description. Along with my photographs I took some notes, but what I’m about to write might not be perfectly accurate. I’m relying to an extent on memory, which with my advancing age isn’t quite what it used to be. So if anyone reading my captions spots an error, PLEASE write a comment at the bottom of this blog post!
Later this month, the Maritime Museum of San Diego will be launching its absolutely fantastic, historically accurate, seaworthy replica of the galleon San Salvador. The original San Salvador was the ship that Portuguese explorer Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo sailed in during his voyage of discovery up the California coast on behalf of Spain. The famous galleon entered San Diego Bay in 1542, making Cabrillo the first European to visit the large, natural harbor. What we call San Diego today he named San Miguel.
Today, the full-size working replica of Cabrillo’s ship is being built at the west end of Spanish Landing, in an area called San Salvador Village, between Harbor Island and San Diego International Airport. The finished ship will be 92 feet long with a beam of 24 feet. As I understand it, construction has been underway for about four years, and for a variety of reasons has taken a couple years longer than originally projected. But once the decks are re-caulked, the shrouds tarred, and a few other things finished, the ship’s exterior will finally be ready for its imminent introduction into San Diego Bay!
The galleon, which without ballast weighs about 130 tons, will be slowly towed to the Broadway Pier downtown, then lifted by a huge crane into the bay. While docked beside the other ships of the Maritime Museum, the interior will be finished, about 60 more tons of lead ballast added, and the vessel’s ability to remain upright thoroughly tested by the Coast Guard.
(Don’t quote me on the 130 tons and 60 tons. Those figures came entirely from my leaky memory.)
There’s simply too much awesome stuff to describe in a few paragraphs, so let me now show you my photographs and I’ll include in the captions some of the cool stuff I learned or observed…
Shipbuilding was the first industrial activity of the New World. Gift shop at site entrance includes Spanish conquistador helmets and breastplate.Poster shows personal arms and protective clothing used by the men who sailed with Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo five centuries ago.A small museum and gift shop includes many interesting sights, including a shirt of chain mail and flag of the Spanish Empire.Diagram shows the sail plan for historic galleon San Salvador.Various items on display include lantern, candle, bottle, ship’s food and native Kumeyaay artifacts.Outside, at the build site, there are many more exhibits. This reproduction of found rock art seems to show sailing ships. The native Kumeyaay people often visited San Diego Bay.First Contact. If this rock art is a Kumeyaay depiction of Cabrillo’s expedition, it might be the oldest graphic representation of a recorded event in American history.Here’s a huge anchor! I didn’t ask, but I assume it will be used by the San Salvador.San Salvador carries six sails totaling a little less than 5000 square feet. The sails are not only used to propel the ship, but exert a larger influence on steering than the rudder.View of a small sail suspended from a yard, with Harbor Drive in the background north of the build site.Suspended from a crane is a shroud (rigging that helps hold a mast) that’s being tarred. The bow of the galleon comes to a sharp point at its beak.Iron in an undeveloped region of the New World was a precious commodity. Imported ingots were often used to forge various fittings and hardware.Hooks, chain links and other iron instruments were crucial to sail and maintain a large ship.The San Salvador carried armament to defend the expedition from potential threats. The cannon-like bombard and swivel gun could be fired from the deck.Two bombards on display at the San Salvador build site. They could fire shot about five pounds in weight and were mounted on wheels.Detailed map of Cabrillo’s route up the California coast. He found neither treasure, nor a passage to the Atlantic.There are no blueprints for the galleon San Salvador. To reconstruct the 16th century ship, the Maritime Museum of San Diego used scarce historical clues.It was difficult to find the right kinds of wood for different parts of the vessel. Both old and modern shipbuilding techniques were used.Wood mast segments and yards are coasted with linseed oil, I believe. They’ll be installed once the ship is afloat in San Diego Bay.Approaching the impressive reproduction of the historic galleon. Just imagine going for an ocean sail in this!Detailed schematic shows framework and beams that support decking and hull.The master builder sets up keel, stem, sternpost and deadwood, locked together with long iron drifts. The master frame is then built.I believe these are the lower halves of two masts (main and fore), each ending in a crow’s nest.A look at the super hard wood hull of the galleon San Salvador at Spanish Landing.Volunteer tour guide shows how six segments of heavy lead are attached to the keel.Each piece of lead weighs over 6000 pounds. The lead was originally used for the drop hammers of Rohr Industries in Chula Vista to form aircraft parts.A small tour group investigates the amazing galleon on a sunny San Diego day!The high stern of San Salvador. The rudder is attached to a tiller. That propeller below (and an eventual engine) is a modern convenience unknown by Cabrillo!Our group climbed the steps of scaffolding to check out the hull, upper deck and aftcastle.We’re shown where a shroud connects to the ship’s side. The darker looking lower portion of the hull is made of hard wood, which is heavier than water.We’re almost on top!View of the San Salvador galleon while standing atop the aftcastle. Work to finish the vessel’s deck and interior is underway.This deck will be re-caulked soon using cotton, hemp rope and synthetic tar. Earlier caulking with less modern materials was unsuccessful, if I recall correctly.Sketch of helmsman steering the galleon with a vertical lever attached to the rudder’s tiller. He had a window to look through in the aftcastle.Looking back at the aftcastle and rearmost poop deck from the center of the upper deck. You can see the window through which the helmsman peered.Capstan is a revolving vertical timber that projects through the deck. Bars will be inserted and used by sailors to turn the capstan, hauling ropes or chains.This is one of five separate water-tight compartments being worked on below. Bunks will be contained here, for journeys out to the Channel Islands eventually.Under the forecastle, looking toward the bow’s beak. The two holes beside the rectangular chain locker are hawseholes, through which the anchor chain is lifted or lowered.Looking straight down here you can see where the foremast and bowsprit are seated.Wow! Is this cool! How often does one get to walk around an actual honest-to-goodness working galleon!
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Fishermen enjoy a day on San Diego Bay with downtown skyline in background.
I made a discovery last weekend as I searched through hundreds of old pics on my computer. It seems I really like to photograph anything that floats in San Diego Bay! There’s just something very striking about purposeful objects that move across the sparkling water. Here’s a variety of photos…
Ferry approaches Coronado while navigating past other ships and boats.Kayakers paddle under the Coronado Ferry Landing pier.Kayaker checks out the water underneath Joe’s Crab Shack.Paddling away on San Diego Bay. Looks like a fun adventure!Guy in small inflatable with bucket, net and fishing rods hopes to catch something.USS Ardent (MCM-12) mine countermeasures Navy ship cruises along the bay.Huge Dole cargo ship brings in millions of bananas from Central America.Sailboat heads out from Shelter Island Yacht Basin past Scripps research ship Melville.Billowing sail is colorful under San Diego blue sky.Man casts from shore of Shelter Island, hangars on North Island in the background.A bunch of beautiful yachts in a row behind the San Diego Convention Center.Boats docked in large marina between Harbor Island and Spanish Landing.Maritime Museum of San Diego’s Swift Boat, PCF-816, returns from a harbor cruise.The Harbor Island Fuel Dock is always a hub of boating activity.Sailboat leans on the sparkling water of our endlessly fascinating Big Bay.
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Mirabella V is the largest single-masted yacht in the world! It’s gigantic!
I had to blink my eyes a couple times during my walk today. I was behind the San Diego Convention Center, where lots of visiting super yachts are docked, and I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.
That huge ship in front of me looked like the largest sailboat on planet Earth!
As it turned out, my first impression wasn’t far from the truth!
A little searching on the internet proved that I had spotted the Mirabella V (today more commonly called M5), a sloop-rigged super yacht launched in 2003. Registered in the Isle of Man, it’s the largest single-masted yacht ever built. It’s 292 feet high! That’s almost the height of a 30-story skyscraper! It’s so tall, it won’t fit under any bridge accessible from the ocean. Not even the Golden Gate Bridge!
It’s hard to appreciate the mind-boggling immensity of this amazing vessel with these quick pics, but I thought they were worth sharing anyway.
You never know what extraordinary thing you’ll encounter during an ordinary stroll!
People walk past huge boat docked behind convention center.An unexpected sight. Mirabella V is visiting San Diego on a sunny October day.
Here are a couple more pics I snapped on October 19…
People walk toward Hilton hotel and giant mast of a world-record super yacht.Mirabella V has a mast that is higher than nearby San Diego buildings!
Here’s another pic I took in March 2015…
People enjoying a day on San Diego Bay return to sailing super-yacht M5.
Check out what I saw on April 12, as I was walking along!
During another walk I noticed an airplane in the water beside M5.The super-yacht’s crane lifts the small seaplane from San Diego Bay into the air!Crew members pull on ropes to swing the airplane toward the ship’s deck.This tiny seaplane is about to be set on a super gigantic single-masted sailing yacht!The plane is secured to the rear deck of the amazing M5 yacht.
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