Oosterdam getting quite a show!

[cruznon]

It looks as if the Star of India is sailing the San Diego Bay today!
This beautiful ship is the oldest sailing ship still afloat. It is sailed only a couple of times a year--so this is special. Those on board the Oosterdam are getting quite a show as she just sailed by and fired a cannon !

http://live6.truelook.com/timages/live6/ecodb/ecodb_1amnorth_camera1/imgbuf/buf_2700/1143905107140088.jpg

http://live6.truelook.com/timages/live6/ecodb/ecodb_1amnorth_camera1/imgbuf/buf_2700/1143905107140305.jpg

[jhannah]

How cool is that! Great show for the pax.

[DAllenTCY]

It isn't the "Star of India" that sails by and shoots "cannons". There are two smaller ships that "do battle" on weekends here in San Diego. I think I saw that they charge better than $50 per person to sail out and shoot at another frigate and do the harbor tour. When I was in Puerto Vallarta last December they were correographing a similar deal with two sailing ships, only they were adding a scripted boarding and subsequent swordfight! Very impressive, but not inexpensive.
David

[RevNeal]

Having a love of old sailing ships, I agree ... this is QUITE a sight.

However ....

I hate to say this, but actually the Star of India is NOT the worlds oldest seafaring ship ... even though she IS billed that way. She was launched in 1863, and perhaps she is the oldest non-military seafaring ship? I'm not sure.

The oldest seafaring ship in the world -- and the oldest ship on active military duty in the world -- is the USS Constitution.

http://www.revneal.org/Constitution2002.jpg


This vessel was launched on October 21, 1797 and first put to sea in 1798. She has remained a part of the U.S. Navy throughout her life, and is today the oldest commissioned warship afloat in the world.

A major restoration/refit in the mid 1990s returned "Old Ironsides" (as she is frequently called) to "as-new" condition, and in her 200th year (1997) she sailed under her own masts and sails for the first time in 116 years. She made 13.5 knots in a moderate breeze for over 1 hour and traveled approximately 5 miles on a course across the harbor, while test-firing her cannon. Since then she has sailed every year, increasing her journey time with each consecutive cruise. I was able to see it in Boston Harbor in 2002. It was an amazing sight.

Also older than the Star of India is the TS Trincomalee, a British Frigate launched in 1817 and currently the oldest ship in the British Royal Navy.

[caltnl]

Having grown up going to San Diego as a Kid can also report that the Star of India is an Iron Hulled ship.

Of course she is docked just north of the Cruise ship dock's and the USS Midway which can be seen from the San Diego Web Cam

[SDHALFAN]

Having grown up going to San Diego as a Kid can also report that the Star of India is an Iron Hulled ship.

Of course she is docked just north of the Cruise ship dock's and the USS Midway which can be seen from the San Diego Web Cam


I was trying to figure this one out - but shouldn't that be WEST of the Cruiseship Terminal? If she was due north of the Cruise Ship Terminal and the USS Midway then she would be headed up the I-15/163, or I-5, and headed towards where I live, and have done for way more than a quarter of a century, in Scripps Ranch.

[SDHALFAN]

Hi Greg,

Thanks so much for the lovely photo of "Old Ironsides" under sail. I had the pleasure of going aboard her a couple of years ago when I was in the Boston area. That Navy dependent I.D. card does come in handy sometimes.:D

The Star of India was never a military sea-faring ship, but rather a merchant marine sailing ship. She is a beauty and we are very proud to have her here in San Diego as part of our Maritiime Museum. You probably saw her when you were in San Diego recently, or at least her sails since they are visible from the Cruise Terminal.

"The Star" gets underway three or four times a year and it's always "an occasion" here in San Diego to go down to The Embarcadero and watch her sail proudly out of the harbor and into San Diego Bay.

Being originally from the U.K., I was trying to figure out what exactly "TS" Trincomalee meant, then it dawned on me that "TS" probably means "Tall Ship". Those truly are beauties, and my late husband was lucky enough to sail on the California Maritime Academy's Tall Ship. He actually crossed the Equator for the first time on that Tall Ship and I still have the certificate to prove it.

Every once in a while the Tall Ships visit San Diego and I always go down to the Embarcadero to see them and I get such a thrill out of it. I have actually seen a couple of them in their native countries and love to see them come to San Diego where they always get such a warm welcome and return the hospitality over and over again.

Valerie:)

[noblepa]

The cruise terminal is on the eastern side of San Diego Bay, so, yes, the Star of India is docked north of the cruise terminal. The edge of the bay runs almost due north/south, at that point.

I lived in S.D. for five years and toured the Star, when she was docked at just about the point the cruise terminal is now. I believe that they claimed during that tour, that she was the oldest IRON-HULLED sailing ship afloat. She may be that. The USS Constittution is, of course, wooden-hulled. Her nickname, "Old Ironsides" comes from that fact that cannon balls or her day were not powerful enough to penetrate her thick oak hull and bounced off.

Incidentally, I was in Boston once, years ago, and toured the Contitution. The guide said that the only original wood in the entire ship was about twelve feet of her keel. The rest had been replaced at one time or another during her long and storied career. So, is she truly the oldest sailing ship afloat? Its like the joke about your grandfather's axe: the head has been replaced twice and the handle three times, but its still the same axe.

I'll be there in 13 days, boarding the O for a seven day Mexican cruise. I can hardly wait. Still no docs, though. My feet are itching to dance!

Paul Noble

[RevNeal]

I was trying to figure this one out - but shouldn't that be WEST of the Cruiseship Terminal? If she was due north of the Cruise Ship Terminal and the USS Midway then she would be headed up the I-15/163, or I-5, and headed towards where I live, and have done for way more than a quarter of a century, in Scripps Ranch.

West of the Cruise-ship terminal would put her in the bay or at the Naval Base. If you're facing the terminal on North Harbor Drive she's just on the other side of Anthony's Fish Grotto from the terminal. Unless I'm reading a map wrong -- and remembering where the sun sets wrong -- that would place the Star of India to the immediate north of the ship terminal ... about 200 meters away.

Here's a view from the forward deck of the Oosterdam as she is pulling away from the ship terminal. You can make out the pier on the right, Anthony's Fish Grotto in front, and the Star of India at her moorings on the left.

http://homepage.mac.com/revneal/.Pictures/oost06/sandiego/oost9h.jpg

[JLC@SD]

West of the Cruise-ship terminal would put her in the bay or at the Naval Base. If you're facing the terminal on North Harbor Drive she's just on the other side of Anthony's Fish Grotto from the terminal. Unless I'm reading a map wrong -- and remembering where the sun sets wrong -- that would place the Star of India to the immediate north of the ship terminal ... about 200 meters away.

Here's a view from the forward deck of the Oosterdam as she is pulling away from the ship terminal. You can make out the pier on the right, Anthony's Fish Grotto in front, and the Star of India at her moorings on the left.

http://homepage.mac.com/revneal/.Pictures/oost06/sandiego/oost9h.jpg

Star of India is due north as well as the ship from Master and Commander, a Russian Scorpion Submarine, Ferry Boat Berkeley and a smaller sailing ship the Californian, which goes out and fires a cannon.

Due west are (when in port) US Aircraft Carriers, including the USS Reagan.

Due south is the USS Midway (41) with a great display, including many aircraft on deck. And between the cruise terminal and Midway, you can see the America's Cup Stars ans Stripes.

And if you do a Bay Tour (boat), they take you down, south of the tall blue Coronado Bridge to see the San Diego Fleet.

San Diego is a great place to see ships.....including many cruise ships that call......all are within easy walking distance.