Marcus at the San Diego Maritime Museum

So - this is a rare Marcus authored post. On our way back from the yearly Gardner beach trip, I was stuck in San Diego for half a day. After talking to Jet Blue and finding out that they would take my bag about 9 hours before takeoff, I left the airport and headed of to the San Diego Maritime Museum, a short bus ride away.

The side trip was well worth it. The museum features the merchant ship Star of India, the mockup 24 gun frigate HMS Surprise (as seen in Master & Commander: The Far Side of the World), and the schooner Californian in the tall ship category.

There are also a number of smaller vessels, and two submarines. Most interestingly, one of these is B-39, a cold-war era diesel submarine fielded by the Soviet Union. A fascinating, and frankly claustrophobic tribute, to the once vast Soviet Navy.

I'll share a few pictures below - it was a very interesting afternoon. Several of these are "photo spheres" - kind of 360 degree panoramic pictures. Click the blue link below those photos access them - not everything lined up perfectly on these, particularly the tall ship rigging, but they're kind of cool.

(CLICK TO VIEW PHOTO SPHERE)

The HMS Surprise as seen from the quarter deck of the Star of India. I didn't know she was here - and even though it's only a replica, I enjoyed Master & Commander: The Far Side of the World so much that I was very excited to see her!

A few more shots of HMS Surprise

I also went aboard the Star of India, the oldest active sailing vessel in the world. She was an impressive and cleanly kept ship. Hard to believe they still sail her from time to time.

(CLICK TO VIEW PHOTO SPHERE)

I had some fun messing around with photo spheres on the Star of India and HMS Surprise - you can access the rest of them by clicking here.

I'll be brief to end - I did enjoy B-39. It's amazing to me that the Soviet Navy deployed so many of these diesel submarines during the cold war. B-39 was cramped and low-tech, but undoubtedly effective at his job. I regret not taking pictures of the interior...it was so cramped that the angles were pretty limited.

All in all, a great afternoon, and a good final fish dinner before leaving the West Coast.