The Golden Gate Bridge playing peekaboo.
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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.
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Fisherman's Wharf and Pier 39 area was always hopping. Great mix of restaurants, art, animals and people.
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The famous 'sea-lebrities' (not our term :) of Pier 39. So fun to watch and listen to - less good to smell them.
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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.
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Every morning a minor migration of pelicans headed seaward, returning at sunset. Alcatraz Island is in the background.
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Beautiful sunset silhouetting the Golden Gate Bridge. Note the flocks of pelicans returning to the Bay.
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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.
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The view west when anchored in Aquatic Marine Park. Sleek racing boats are a usual sight in San Francisco Bay.
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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.
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I guess that Ghirardelli sign got to us.
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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.
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Here are the F-18s of the US Navy Blue Angels.
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A slow-speed pass of the Blue Angels, tailing the private Oracle Corp aircraft.
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The Blue Angels support/spotter taking a bow after the show.
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Dot matrix printing done by five drones - wow! Advertising to a large audience.
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Some of the company at Codmother's. We had very tasty fish'n'chips here, but resisted the deep-fried Oreos.
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Nice little garden of drought-resistant plants on a city sidewalk.
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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.
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Wi-fi is where one finds it... Checking email with Alcatraz in the background.
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This pelican has caught some lunch after an awesome plunge into the water.
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Bjarne's reattaching the mast shrouds at the spreaders.
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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.
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On a beautiful sunny day we walked by many soccer games along the water front. This one looked like the most fun!
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Fog creeping over the hills of Sausalito, seen from Richardson Bay anchorage.
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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.
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Some of the wildlife scenery at Richardson Bay.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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A local foundation is building a tall ship, the Matthew W. Turner, which will be used for educational cruises for youths.
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The volunteers building the Matthew Turner include women, hence this modified sign...
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One of the two sails damaged from the break in the headfoil. Fortunately, we were able to repair them.
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Loved these gnarley trees lining one of the hilly streets of San Francisco.
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Picturesque traditional fishing craft at Fisherman's Wharf. The smell of sourdough bread and boiling crab hung heavy in the air.
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Up a steep hill is perched the Coit tower - a New Deal work project and now a historical art structure.
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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.
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Couldn't resist another sunset shot...
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