NAUTICAL NIRVANA
San Diego Bay has history and action
Of course I requested to ride alongside tour guide DeWayne (pronounced DeeWayne) on our San Diego Speed Boat Adventure.
He looked the part of a Californian water sport pro — tanned, with tousled hair, cool shades and a mile-wide smile.
Nabbing the co-pilot or shotgun seat on other excursions had served me well, resulting in an up-close and personal outing with spectacular photo opportunities.
At first, DeWayne hesitated to take a passenger in his two-person speed boat, stating company policy, but within seconds shrugged his agreement.
Others in our six-craft convoy drove on their own or with a partner. Two-way communication systems were mounted in each boat from which DeWayne noted significant vessels and other points of interest. As well as a crash course in driving the sleek crafts and words of safety, DeWayne stressed the importance of keeping pace with the group in the busy harbour.
There was an air of excitement as we motored from the West Basin of Harbor Island into San Diego Bay amid a beautiful blue sky reflected on calm waters.
And then, almost as if a movie director had yelled, “Action,” we were belting through waves of the bigger bay, expertly dodging a plethora of vessels while military helicopters buzzed overhead.
Absolutely terrifying. Or thrilling, depending on your personal sense of adventure.
And for me, with DeWayne, it was double the action, racing back and forth rounding up the less intrepid.
Our craft was often airborne during these spurts of speed with DeWayne, in his element, reminding me, we were indeed on a speed boat adventure!
During calmer moments, we were treated to an arms-length look at dozens of sea lions, cormorants, seagulls and storks lolling together on barges.
Good to know there’s a law against harassing these docile marine mammals.
From the water, we had wonderful views of Harbor Island, described by DeWayne as a boater’s paradise housing five marinas and some 2,000 boats. About 10 per cent of the owners live on their boats year-round, enjoying an average temperature of 22 C and 250 days of sunshine. Sheraton and Hilton hotels are situated here for easy access to the waterfront.
We pass by the city’s bait docks, once home to the world’s largest commercial tuna fleet. Tuna fishing hit its stride here in the 1940s when some 300 tuna vessels called the port home. Six canneries operated on shore in its heyday with the last one closing in 1984.
An impressive bronze sculpture is dedicated to the “courageous” men of several ethnic backgrounds including Portuguese, Japanese and Italian, who crewed the tuna fleet.
Located on Shelter Island, the monument is inscribed, “Tunaman’s Memorial: Honoring those that built an industry and remembering those that departed this Harbor in the Sun and did not return.” — Boat captain Anthony Mascarenhas.
We skirt around Coronado Island, home to the U.S. Naval Air Station, and a popular vacation spot since a bridge was built to the mainland in the late-1960s.
People on paddleboards and kayaks calmly make their way closer to shore while bigger yachts such as the three-deck Spirit of San Diego, carrying 500-plus passengers, treads deeper water offering a guided tour of the harbour.
In-service U.S. cruisers and battleships are in view, too. But it is the collection of historical floating giants that catch our attention, especially the famed aircraft carrier USS Midway. In service from 1945
to 1992, it was once the largest aircraft carrier in the world, the length of three football fields. Midway, itself a museum, carried out missions worldwide, serving in the Vietnam War and Operation Desert Storm.
Cruising underneath the massive bow was an awesome experience, a favourite of DeWayne’s.
A few waves away The Star of India commanded our attention as the world’s oldest active sailing ship. It was built in Britain’s Isle of Man in 1863.
DeWayne regales us with the storied pasts of several other vessels before we speed back to the marina, but once there we agree it’s the tale of our own sea-salty afternoon that looms the largest.