The worldwide coronavirus pandemic is a serious matter. But this morning I didn’t expect to see two powerful Greek deities wearing face masks!
I spotted the great Olympian goddess Athena and the Muse of music Euterpe wearing face coverings during my walk along the Embarcadero!
Athena is the figurehead of HMS Surprise, and Euterpe graces the bow of Star of India. Both famous tall ships belong to the Maritime Museum of San Diego.
UPDATE!
I’ve now been told the figurehead of HMS Surprise is actually Boadicea, who, according to Wikipedia was “queen of the British Celtic Iceni tribe who led an uprising against the conquering forces of the Roman Empire.” This probably makes more sense, as HMS Boadicea was a ship commanded by fictional character Jack Aubrey during the Napoleonic Wars in the series of novels by Patrick O’Brian. Aubrey also commanded HMS Surprise.
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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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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!
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It was unusually hot and humid today. So after work I headed down to the Embarcadero, to enjoy cooler air coming off San Diego Bay.
I boarded the beautiful, historic tall ship Star of India and, breathing in fresh air, watched changing clouds and the summer sun as it slowly descended. I saw many sailboats. It was a perfect day to be above the shining water.
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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!
As I arrived at the Festival of the Sea, the 27th Annual San Diego Sea Chantey Festival was already underway.
There’s a great festival going on this Memorial Day weekend at the Maritime Museum of San Diego. The new, family-friendly waterfront event, sponsored by the Port of San Diego, is called Festival of the Sea!
I headed to the Maritime Museum late this morning to see what was going on!
On the deck of the Star of India, I listened to the 27th Annual San Diego Sea Chantey Festival sponsored by San Diego Folk Heritage. Inside the steam ferry Berkeley, I got to see lots of art by local artists, then peruse books, prints and other used items that are being sold in a kind of nautical rummage sale. From the museum’s barge behind the Berkeley, I viewed a cannon battle out on San Diego Bay, then enjoyed free samples of Tillamook Ice Cream!
The Festival of the Sea also includes kids’ educational activities, costumes galore, and the opportunity to enjoy adult beverages while taking in amazing views of San Diego Bay.
Here come a few photos!
A smiling guy with a wooden leg welcomes me aboard Star of India for the new waterfront event, Festival of the Sea!Gazing out at San Diego Bay from the back of the Maritime Museum of San Diego’s barge.You just knew there would be a pirate!The free samples of Tillamook Ice Cream were super yummy. (Yes, that tray you get holds four different flavors!)Lots of artists had their work on display inside the elegant passenger deck of the Berkeley.Friendly author Joseph O’Loughlin has written an action-packed historical novel that takes place in the Age of Sail. Gallagher’s Prize is the first book of a series!Photographer David J. Shuler has spent many years capturing beautiful images. You can check out his fine work at NauticalVisions.comA large selection of art was being displayed aboard the Berkeley. I was surprised to see so much variety!Norm Daniels was getting started on a new piece. He does a lot of plein air painting. His website is NormHere.comExamples of Norm Daniel’s surf and island themed work.The Maritime Museum of San Diego’s unique Model Shop is also active during the festival.All sorts of used museum items are for sale during the Festival of the Sea. Not shown are numerous unique books about maritime history.Beyond the museum’s Soviet submarine, tall ships sail on San Diego Bay.Californian and Bill of Rights exchange a broadside!The Maritime Museum’s beautiful Californian is the official tall ship of California.A picturesque scene out on the nearby water.Looking beyond HMS Surprise, which starred with Russell Crowe in the great movie Master and Commander.Back on the Star of India, more people are gathering to enjoy live entertainment.A kid explores the workings of the world’s oldest active sailing ship!The Jackstraws sing lively, often humorous nautical tunes during the Festival of the Sea!
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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!
I was drawn to the Star of India today. I sat on a wooden bench of the historic tall ship and gazed out at sailboats gliding across the sparkling water of San Diego Bay.
Finally I stood up and walked about the Star of India’s sunny deck, trying to frame interesting effects of light and shadow with the lens of my camera.
Later, as I walked through the Maritime Museum of San Diego’s other vessels, I halted inside the Compass Gallery of the steam ferry Berkeley. My eyes were held fast by an exhibition of paintings titled Sea and Shore. Many of the canvases, painted by the hands of local artists, all members of the Plein Air Painters Association of San Diego, depict the Star of India.
I thought that contrasting a few of my photos with some of the dreamlike artwork might be fun.
Dozens of pieces in the Compass Gallery are available for purchase! If you’d like to sail through an ocean of beautiful nautical paintings, and perhaps take one home, head downtown to the Maritime Museum of San Diego!
Bert and Wes Working on the STAR, by artist Jeffrey Remmer.
She Rests, by artist Pamela Ingwers.
Aloft on STAR of INDIA, by artist Norm Daniels.
The STAR of INDIA at Sunset, by artist Pamela Ingwers.
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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!
Huge banner on sail of Star of India celebrates the 250th Anniversary of San Diego!
The City of San Diego has placed an enormous banner on a sail of the historic tall ship Star of India. Its bold message can be seen from many spots downtown. The banner celebrates San Diego’s 250th Anniversary!
In 1769, on the hill that overlooks what would eventually become Old Town, Spain began its settlement of the region by building El Presidio Reál de San Diego. Attached to the fort, the original Mission San Diego de Alcalá was established by Junípero Serra in the same year.
Back then the land was wide open and mostly wilderness. The mountains, hills, rivers and coast were home to the Native American Kumeyaay. European settlement brought about an abrupt change in the region’s history. For better or worse, 250 years later San Diego is quite a bit different!
What will San Diego look like in another 250 years? As our civilization evolves, and as technological breakthroughs accelerate, can anyone possibly imagine?
Together we sail into the future!
SAN DIEGO 250 – EST. 1769 – WHERE CALIFORNIA BEGAN
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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!
Early this morning I walked from Cortez Hill down to San Diego Bay. I spent a few quiet minutes between the Maritime Museum of San Diego and the Grape Street Pier.
The sun was very bright. It wasn’t long before I noticed wavy reflections of ships on the water!
Without reading the photo captions, can you identify each ship by its mysterious reflection?
Reflection on the water of Steam Ferry Berkeley.Reflection on the water of HMS Surprise and Steam Ferry Berkeley.Reflection on the water near USS Dolphin of Steam Ferry Berkeley.Reflection on the water of Medea, Pilot, America, San Salvador, and Californian.Reflection on the water of Admiral Hornblower.Reflection on the water of Star of India.Reflection on the water of Star of India.Reflection on the water of Star of India.
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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!
Star of India and Californian navigate south down the channel of San Diego Bay, heading out into the Pacific Ocean.
I will remember this amazing morning for the rest of my life.
Standing on the Bayside Trail of Cabrillo National Monument, near the end of the Point Loma peninsula, I watched as Star of India, oldest active sailing ship in the world, headed out of San Diego Bay into the wide blue Pacific Ocean.
It was a truly historic moment, and magical.
The Star of India, now 155 years old, is sailing this weekend for the first time in five years.
Tall ships Californian and San Salvador, which also belong to the Maritime Museum of San Diego, accompanied the Star of India, as did two other tall ships based in San Diego: America and Cloudia. I saw Bill of Rights, a tall ship that makes its home in Chula Vista, heading out of the channel a bit later in the morning.
Please enjoy these photos.
People walk down Cabrillo National Monument’s Bayside Trail in order to watch a bit of sailing history.The north part of San Diego Bay is visible from the Bayside Trail. In the distance, with other tall ships, Star of India makes its way around Coronado.Star of India is towed past Naval Base Point Loma as it heads out of San Diego’s harbor toward the open ocean.Star of India is accompanied during its historic sail by Californian, San Salvador, America and Cloudia. Bill of Rights would leave the channel a bit later in the morning.Californian and Star of India pass Naval Air Station North Island.The downtown San Diego skyline behind Star of India and Californian.Two beautiful tall ships of the Maritime Museum of San Diego, Star of India and Californian, head out into the Pacific Ocean.The amazing group of tall ships is almost out of the channel and into the wide open ocean.Star of India, oldest active sailing ship in the world, and Californian enter the Pacific Ocean together.Behind come America, Cloudia and the Spanish galleon replica San Salvador.Pure magic. Like a dream.The beautiful tall ships continue past Point Loma, making their way south.A view of the tall ships from Cabrillo National Monument’s sunny Bayside Trail.155 year old Star of India and its companion tall ships sail across the water on an historic weekend in November, 2018.I and a few other photographers head back up the Bayside Trail to get more photos as the ships head out to sea.Californian and America on the distant water. Mexico lies on the horizon.Five fantastic tall ships together on the peaceful, blue Pacific Ocean.A magical vision of historic tall ships seen from the end of Point Loma. Time’s curtain seems to open for a moment, and we peer into the past.People enjoy the magic near a bench on the Bayside Trail.Star of India crew members can be seen upon its yards. The sails will soon billow in the wind.The ships sail past the end of Point Loma. My old camera can barely photograph them at this distance.Out into the wide, hazy Pacific Ocean.People just below the whale watching overlook of Cabrillo National Monument watch the ships. They gaze past the New Point Loma Lighthouse, which is down by the water’s edge.Among smaller boats, the tall ships are just visible in the hazy distance.Photographers with powerful cameras do their best to get good photos of the tall ships that are now very far away.Light reflects from a passing plane. The distant Coronado Islands poke out of the haze. And the Star of India sails proudly upon the Pacific Ocean.A vision I will remember for the rest of my life.
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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!
San Diego’s handsome County Administration Building in the fog.
Early this morning an unusually heavy fog rolled into San Diego.
I love the dreamy quality of fog, so I took a long, quiet stroll around downtown before catching a trolley for work.
I floated around the County Administration Building, turned south when I reached the foggy bay, then steered east when I reached Broadway. Finally I ended up at Santa Fe Depot.
Please enjoy these photos of several San Diego landmarks engulfed by the gray, mysterious fog!
Mysterious photograph of foggy Waterfront Park and the County Administration Building.The historic tall ship Star of India appears through a heavy fog on San Diego’s Embarcadero.The beautiful Star of India appears to cut through a fog that conceals San Diego Bay.A jogger stretches on the observation platform near Broadway Pier, beside the fog covered water.United States Navy ship USS Harpers Ferry (LSD-49) docked in the fog at Broadway Pier, awaiting public tours during Fleet Week this weekend.People head down a San Diego sidewalk in early morning fog.The tall Pacific Gate building rises through the deep gray fog.The historic Santa Fe Depot in the morning fog, seen from the west.Trolley tracks lead through a fog past Santa Fe Depot in San Diego.The old train station’s Santa Fe sign stands out when contrasted with fog engulfed high-rises.
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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! 