Port of San Diego and The Big Bay

San Diego is a wonderful US Navy town! Where else can you look out your hotel terrace and watch a air craft carrier sail by? (all photos enlarge when clicked on)


The Port of San Diego was created by the state Legislature in 1962 to manage San Diego Bay and surrounding waterfront land. The Port is made up of Imperial Beach, National City, Chula Vista, San Diego and Coronado waterfront properties.
On my husband's and my last day in San Diego we walked from our hotel along the Embarcadero and Harbor Drive to find a harbor cruise to enjoy.

Along the way we passed Tuna Harbor Park, next to Tuna Harbor, is a wide walkway which makes its way to Fish Market, at the point of the park. The north side has a narrower walkway with a grassy area, trees, two war memorials, and a great view of the USS Midway Museum.


Below - the statue “Unconditional Surrender,” which represents a famous photo taken by Alfred Eisenstaedt of a Sailor kissing a nurse in Time Square, New York City 1945, after the announcement of V-J Day. The statue is owned by the Sculpture Foundation of Santa Monica, Calif., and is on loan to the Port of San Diego.

U.S.S. San Diego Memorial by Eugene Daub & Louis Quaintance. This public artwork provides a commemoration of the distinguished service of the cruiser USS San Diego and her crew, serving as a reminder of their selfless contribution to victory in World War II. The floor of the monument features a large, colored terrazzo map of the western Pacific and the Asian and Australian coastlines, which proscribe the theater of operations in which the ship served during World War II.

The Battle of Leyte Gulf Memorial by Moon Kim. This beautiful monument is dedicated to the memory of Vice Admiral Clifton A. F. Sprague and the 13 ships and 7,300 men of Task Unit 77.4.3, also known as Taffy 3, which were under his command during the furious and heroic naval action fought off the island of Samar on October 25, 1944, during the Battle for Leyte Gulf.


We decided to take the 2 hour Hornblower cruise, where we saw both the north and the south ends of San Diego Bay. Some of the highlights we saw during the cruise were the US Navy ships and submarine base, the Navy Seals training base, the America's Cup harbor, the North Island Naval Air Station, the beautiful marinas of Harbor and Shelter Islands, Cabrillo National Monument area and Point Loma, and lots of wildlife, including seals and pelicans.


The USS Nimitz a nuclear powered aircraft carriers. Named for one of our nation's greatest military leaders, Fleet Admiral Chester W. NIMITZ , was under maintenance and repair in the harbor.

Shipbuilder General Dynamics NASSCO has been designing and building ships since 1959, specializing in auxiliary and support ships for the U.S. Navy and oil tankers and dry cargo carriers for commercial markets. Located in San Diego, California, NASSCO employs more than 4,700 people and is the only major ship construction yard on the West Coast of the United States.

Two views from the harbor cruise of shipbuilding and repair now in progress at NASSCO.

Two views, below, of the U.S. Aircraft Carrier, "USS Midway." The Midway served 47 years, from the end of WW II to Desert Storm. By the time the Midway was decommissioned in 1991, more than 225,000 men had served aboard. The carrier is now a naval museum, telling the story of life on board the ship, of the wars she fought, and of the records she set.

The Star of India, below, is a tall ship that sailed during the 1860s, which is still seaworthy today and is the world's oldest active ship. She began her life on the stocks at Ramsey Shipyard in the Isle of Man in 1863.

It is one of the ships in the San Diego Maritime Museum on North Harbor Drive.

In the photo below, on the right is the H.M.S. Surprise, another ship at the San Diego Maritime Museum. This ship is the very one upon which Russell Crowe and his colleagues filmed "Master and Commander," one of the hit films of 2003.

A submarine docked at Naval Base Point Loma. We saw many seals in the water and pelicans and other sea birds in this area as we sailed by. Naval Base Point Loma (NBPL) was established on Oct. 1, 1998 when Navy facilities in the Point Loma area of San Diego were consolidated under Commander, Navy Region Southwest.

Two views below of the North Island Naval Air Station, part of the Naval Base Coronado, where the U.S. Navy ports some of its large aircraft carriers and fighter jets.

Naval Base Coronado (NBC) is a consolidated Navy installation compassing seven military facilities stretching from San Clemente Island to the La Posta Mountain Warfare Training Facility.

We were lucky enough to see this fighter jet practicing its take off and landing!

There were remnants of the old piers when this area was home port for Pacific Fleet carriers. It was explained to us by the harbor cruise guide that they are now they are not all keep in one area for security reasons.

Our last look at beautiful San Diego from the great bay as The Hornblower heads back to its pier.

We had a wonderful time visiting the city of San Diego, and enjoyed its fine restaurants and entertainment venues, its wonderful shore front, it's beautiful parks, and learning about its history, and we especially enjoyed seeing the pride of the US Navy!

'Till we visit again next time .... anchors aweigh!