Latest Photo S/V Hoku Pa'a
Photos - San Francisco, Sep-Oct 2015

...click on the small photos for larger versions...

San Francisco waterfront, from Richardson Bay

The view from Richardson Bay on a clear day. The long bridge to the left is the Bay Bridge which goes to Oakland.

Golden Gate Bridge in fog The Golden Gate Bridge playing peekaboo.
Alcatraz Island with Sailboats A good view of Alcatraz, the famous prison. It was the only prison at the time that had hot showers for the inmates, in order to prevent them from getting acclimatized to cold water. Judging by the matching and expensive-looking sails on many of the sailboats, it seems we have a picture of one of the many races that were going on.
Crab Sculpture Fisherman's Wharf and Pier 39 area was always hopping. Great mix of restaurants, art, animals and people.
Sea Lions on Pier39 docks The famous 'sea-lebrities' (not our term :) of Pier 39. So fun to watch and listen to - less good to smell them.
close-up of Sea Lions on Pier39 docks Such a contrast to see these large lumps on land compared to their smooth progress through the water. Many have swum by Hoku Pa'a, often in pairs, but they don't tend to linger.
Pelican formation in front of Alcatraz Island Every morning a minor migration of pelicans headed seaward, returning at sunset. Alcatraz Island is in the background.
Sunset behind Golden Gate Bridge with Pelicans Beautiful sunset silhouetting the Golden Gate Bridge. Note the flocks of pelicans returning to the Bay.
balclutha tall ship The view to the east in Aquatic Marine Park, home to several historical vessels. Square-rigger Balclutha had groups of kids moving through every couple of days for some on-board training. The sounds of 'heave-ho!' and 'aye aye sir' were frequently heard.
Sailboats with Golden Gate in background The view west when anchored in Aquatic Marine Park. Sleek racing boats are a usual sight in San Francisco Bay.
Ghirardelli sign lit up at dusk At dusk looking south, still from Aquatic Marine Park. The Dolphin Swim & Row Club has about 800 members and swimmers abound despite the cool water (~16C / 60F). Perhaps they warm up with chocolate from Ghirardelli's after.
Bjarne with Sundae, shared I guess that Ghirardelli sign got to us.
Blue Angels support aircraft Aquatic Marine Park also gave us a front-row spot for enjoying the Fleet Week Airshow. To the north is Alcatraz and the Blue Angels' support/spotter aircraft taking a pass.
Blue Angels in close formation Here are the F-18s of the US Navy Blue Angels.
SF Fleet Week Airshow Blue Angels A slow-speed pass of the Blue Angels, tailing the private Oracle Corp aircraft.
Blue Angels air coach The Blue Angels support/spotter taking a bow after the show.
Dot-matrix Skywriting by drones Dot matrix printing done by five drones - wow! Advertising to a large audience.
Bird at Codmother's Some of the company at Codmother's. We had very tasty fish'n'chips here, but resisted the deep-fried Oreos.
Succulents in sidewalk garden Nice little garden of drought-resistant plants on a city sidewalk.
View from Top of Mast at Pier39 We were up and down the mast several times. We needed to: inspect the broken headfoil; fix the masthead tricolour light; remove the tape from the new headfoil (put on by rigger); and take down each synthetic stay so we could sew up the splices to reduce slippage. The stays are the lines holding the mast up, therefore we could only take down two at a time.
On dock with laptop Wi-fi is where one finds it... Checking email with Alcatraz in the background.
Pelican eating fish This pelican has caught some lunch after an awesome plunge into the water.
Bjarne up the mast working on spreaders Bjarne's reattaching the mast shrouds at the spreaders.
Golden Gate Bridge, south end It had to be done. Trekking out to the Golden Gate Bridge felt a bit like a pilgrimage as we joined the steady stream of tourists.
Bubble-wrap soccer On a beautiful sunny day we walked by many soccer games along the water front. This one looked like the most fun!
View from Richardson Bay of Sausalito Fog creeping over the hills of Sausalito, seen from Richardson Bay anchorage.
San Francisco in fog, from Richardson Bay Richardson Bay provided a great view of the SF downtown. I believe that's HMCS Calgary (in town for Fleet Week) playing stealthy in the ubiquitous fog.
WaterFowl in Richardson Bay Some of the wildlife scenery at Richardson Bay.
US Army Corps of Engineers - Bay Model This model of the San Francisco Bay and Delta area takes up about 1.5 acres and has working tides and currents. It was built by the US Army Corps of Engineers and used for research for many years, until advances in computer modelling made it obsolete. It is now an educational centre. The impetus to create it was a proposal to build a couple of dams and turn a lot of the Bay area into fresh water lakes. The Bay Model allowed them to determine that this wasn't a good idea.
Margaret Beeson photo in Marinship archives During WWII the USA built the Liberty Ships, which were considered almost disposable boats. They were turned out at an incredible rate - between 6 and 10 days to build one. About 40% of the welders were women. This old publication highlit a number of the women working on the ships. Note the final comment for Margaret.
Art made from discarded plastics and household items Pieces of art with many pieces spotted at the Innovation Centre. Neat how so many disparate things can come together to create a completely different whole image. I'm sure there is some metaphorical message to be had in that.
Bird fest around schooling fish Looks like the fishing is pretty good in Richardson Bay, just off Sausalito. Due to skyrocketting rents in the last few years - $4000 for a one bedroom apparently - the bay is also home to a large number of live-aboards or anchor-outs. There are many derelict boats with thick layers of green salad on the hulls.
Tall ship Matthew Turner under construction A local foundation is building a tall ship, the Matthew W. Turner, which will be used for educational cruises for youths.
Men At Work sign, modified to read women The volunteers building the Matthew Turner include women, hence this modified sign...
Before and After patching the Jib One of the two sails damaged from the break in the headfoil. Fortunately, we were able to repair them.
Hilly street lined with trees Loved these gnarley trees lining one of the hilly streets of San Francisco.
Colourful small Fishing Boats at Fisherman's Wharf Picturesque traditional fishing craft at Fisherman's Wharf. The smell of sourdough bread and boiling crab hung heavy in the air.
Coit Tower with statue Up a steep hill is perched the Coit tower - a New Deal work project and now a historical art structure.
Bjarne on Angel Island with Hoku Pa'a in background Great view of Hoku Pa'a, looking a little lonely off the NE end of Angel Island. Surprisingly (not), there's fog in background. In addition to a chance to stretch our legs, we wandered the now-historical site of the immigration processing area, and read of some of the many injustices that occured there.
Sunset behind Golden Gate Bridge Couldn't resist another sunset shot...


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Victoria, BC
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This page last updated 7 Jun 2020