San Diego’s Maritime Museum

On our last morning in San Diego, CA my husband, Keith, and I toured the Maritime Museum on the waterfront at downtown San Diego. The $18 admission fee gave us access to all 11 ships (America, B-39 Submarine, Californian, HMS Surprise, PCF 816 Swift Boat, San Diego Harbor Pilot Boat, San Salvador, Star of India, Steam Ferry Berkeley, Steam Yacht Medea and USS Dolphin) docked there. We started with The Star of India (or Euterpe, named after the Greek muse of music and poetry) because I saw it on Ghost Adventures and knew how beautiful it was. The walk through did not disappoint.

We started mid deck and checked out the metal windlass where wooden poles were inserted so the crew could pull on them to turn the wench that pulled up the anchor. We went below deck where we saw the gear system operated by turning the windlass.

The lower level of the ship houses an exhibit of ships that preceded and led up to the building of The Star of India. There were samples of cargo they carried including an antique pram. Piled and hung along the walls were ropes and pulleys. But the most fascinating to me were the accommodations made to the humans onboard the ship. The captain and first mate quarters were spartan, but luxurious compared to what the passengers lived in while onboard. There was a skinny outhouse-like structure on one side of the bunks that served as their facilities and many complained about the crudeness of the lodgings.

There was wood, brass, rope and many other rich materials making up the majority of the vessel. There were even restrooms onboard!

The galley, kitchens, surgery, etc. areas were well maintained and I could almost imagine being onboard a journey myself.

Next, we climbed into the B-39 Russian submarine (also known as Black Widow and Cobra). Outside the entrance to the sub was a sample porthole of the four inside that people would have to climb through. I had no real problem with that, so I forged ahead. We entered at the forward torpedo room (there was also one at the rear of the sub) The only thing I did have a problem with was in a room where they simulated preparing to dive and fire torpedoes. Much of the time the lights were low or out and that brought on a sense of claustrophobia. I did not like being on the sub then.

As we were due to check out of our hotel in one hour, we took a quick stroll through the Berkeley ferry and were thrilled to be given a demonstration of the ship’s fully-restored triple expansion steam engine. Though it was not steam-operated anymore, a friendly and informative docent demonstrated their current system run with the aid of hydraulics and compressed air.

We hope to return in future and explore the other ships onsite. There was a café cart at the entrance to the Berkeley for thirsty or hungry visitors and a well-stocked gift shop just inside.

If you have visited San Diego’s Maritime Museum, we would love to hear about your experience in out comment section.

Thanks for reading,

Cathy

Up the Creek with a Paddle Blog

Maritime Museum, San Diego Visit

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