San Diego -- Harbor

I began my visit to San Diego at the harbor. Not only is the visitors center located there, but there are so many ships along the Embarcadero that they demand attention. The largest were the cruise ships including a couple of Princess line. I cannot imagine getting on one of those with thousands of other people. I went south along the Embarcadero to see the USS Midway, an aircraft carrier now docked permanently as a Museum in San Diego. There were 60 stations where you pressed the number on the telephone like piece to listen to an explanation of what you are seeing. In addition there seemed to be hundreds of Navy veterans volunteering as docents to answer any question you could think of. They also demonstrated certain aspects of the ship and took small groups through the island (I think that's what the tower is called). In that tower, after walking at least three flights of stairs, we toured the air boss control room which looks out over the flight deck and the bridge which controls the sailing of the ship. We were a group of about 20 and packed in these places. However, it was below deck where sardine packing was normal. I cannot imagine how the enlisted men existed for months at a time in the spaces. I guess I was lucky to go in the Army!

I hadn't realized that the off-center flight deck (which was invented by the British) was just for landing and the on center deck with its catapults was for takeoffs. Our guide stressed how separating these two functions made life so much safer for the pilots. On the deck, they had examples of the various types of aircraft which had flown from the Midway during her service. I also toured the hangar deck and the huge elevator which carried the planes from the hangar deck to the flight deck and back. All in all, a most instructive and interesting afternoon. I highly recommend it. Some pics here.

Also in the harbor is the San Diego Maritime Museum. They have a variety of craft you can tour with experienced seamen to answer questions. I was particularly taken with the Star of India and the HMS Surprise. The Star of India was one of the last sailing ships built in England. She sailed around the world 22 times mostly carrying immigrants to New Zealand. I found it interesting for a number of reasons including the fact that she is an iron hulled vessel. Built just before the age of steel, her hall is entirely of iron and is a perfect copy of a wooden hull sailing ship. She has iron beams exactly where there would be wooden beams. The thickness of her siding is exactly the thickness of a wooden siding. She is technically a barque. This means that the foremast and the mainmast are really with square sails wound which run perpendicular to the keel. The mizzenmast (one nearest the rear) is rigged with sails which run parallel with the keel. (See how much you can learn from a docent). Anyway, Museum volunteers were having a dress rehearsal in preparation for sailing up and down the coast this coming weekend. The ship is crewed by all volunteers except the captain who is a professional. Crew members are required to train twice a month for a year before they are allowed to join the crew. I found the practice shifting of the sails unbelievably instructive. When I taught my eighth graders about whaling (way back when), I could've used what I learned about rigging. Finally, standing rigging (those ropes which hold up the mast) and running rigging (those ropes which move the sails) are clear in my mind.

Below decks, I found the accommodations terrible. First-class passengers were required to furnish their own cabins. These cabins were about 6' x 8' and an entire family was expected to fit in there. Their meals were taken in a large common room with the officers. I think the room would seat eight to 10 people. The captain's cabin was about the same size as the first-class cabins. In the hold, where the sleeping spaces of the rest of the immigrants. There were six bunks in each space, some of the bunks were doubles. It appeared that they lived in their bunks.

The other ship I liked was the HMS Surprise, the one used in the movie Captains and Commanders (or some such title). My son Erik has read all 22 books in which the Surprise played an important part. I think I've read most of them. Anyway, I just had to call him while I was aboard! The Surprise is technically rigged as a ship, all three masts with square sails perpendicular to the keel. She is a small fighting ship (frigate) with cannon as her armament. It takes a crew of about 30 to sail her but another 170 to fight her. She is about 135 feet long and 32 feet wide on the deck. Erik asked about the space between the top deck and the fighting deck which turned out to be approximately 5 feet. Anyway, I feel like I have seen what I only imagined as I read the books. pics here.