MARITIME MUSEUM OF SAN DIEGO

Star of India

  

We recently visited the Maritime Museum of San Diego which enjoys a worldwide reputation for excellence in restoring, maintaining and operating historic vessels. The museum has one of the world’s finest collections of historic ships, including the world’s oldest active ship the Star of India.

View from Star of India

Captain's cabin on Star of India

Founded in 1948, the museum grew out of the earlier efforts of a group of local historians and maritime enthusiasts who acquired the sailing ship Star of India in 1927. Now fully restored, the Star of India is maintained by a dedicated group of volunteers and skilled craftsmen and sailed at least once a year.

HMS Surprise

The museum’s collection also includes the 1898 steam ferry Berkeley, the 1904 steam yacht Medea, the state’s official tall ship the Californian which is a replica of an 1848 revenue cutter. The museum’s schoonerCalifornian takes passengers sailing on San Diego Bay   Other ships include submarines and the H.M.S Surprise, a magnificent replica of an 18th century Royal Navy frigate featured in the award winning film “Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World”. Most of the ships have exhibits on maritime history, commerce and exploration

Californian

Near Spanish landing/construction site

San Salvador model

 

The latest project at the museum is the construction of an historically accurate replica of the  San Salvador.  The original San Salvador arrived at the port of San Diego in 1542 under the command of Juan Cabrillo that was in search of  trade routes that would link Mexico to Asia and Europe.  

This construction is now underway at Spanish Landing, on San Diego Bay, right next to the San Diego International Airport.  Visitors can tour the build-site every day of the year. The Maritime Museum has engaged a group of skilled professional boat builders, who are assisted by scores of regular volunteers.

The new San Salvador will function much more than just a static museum display.  Home-ported in San Diego, she will also sail along the coast of California, visiting its cities and towns as a floating education platform for California's school children.  

After finishing seeing all the ships at the museum we stopped in for dinner at Anthony’s Fish Grotto a few steps away for a delicious seafood dinner while watching the sunset over the bay.