MV San Diego

[Kahloke]

Hi gang. I had an unexpected sighting last week when I was down in California...the ferry San Diego...or what's left of her. She's sitting on the banks of a slough off the main channel of the Sacramento River halfway between Antioch and Rio Vista. There were some folks walking around on the old girl when I took this photo. It looks like they arrived by their own boat, which you can see tied up to San Diego.

[FNS]

Apr 25, 2011 20:43:04 GMT -8 Kahloke said:

Hi gang. I had an unexpected sighting last week when I was down in California...the ferry San Diego...or what's left of her. She's sitting on the banks of a slough off the main channel of the Sacramento River halfway between Antioch and Rio Vista. There were some folks walking around on the old girl when I took this photo. It looks like they arrived by their own boat, which you can see tied up to San Diego.

That is really great that you did see her. I am one of, perhaps, only a few of this forum to actually see her in service. My last sighting of her was in 1972 before WSF took over with the OLYMPIC.

The SAN DIEGO had a similar sound of whistles the new CHETZEMOKA has, as well as the old CHETZEMOKA. While WSF has been using one long and two short blast as their fanfare approach signal, Olympic Ferries just used two quick blasts on their ferries. The SAN DIEGO did sound the usual long blast when departing. It was fun to see the crew turn the hand crank to lower and raise the apron each time when she came and went from Keystone.

So nice to see the Keystone colors still on her cabin, stack, and wheelhouses.

I think I placed similar images that you'll see below on another thread. I just recaptured the GoogleEarth images within this hour and are here in this posting to show her location:


On the shores of Decker Island.


Decker Island. That's her at the southwest corner.


The area around this area.


One final zoom out on this posting.

[EGfleet]

Apr 25, 2011 20:43:04 GMT -8 Kahloke said:

Hi gang. I had an unexpected sighting last week when I was down in California...the ferry San Diego...or what's left of her. She's sitting on the banks of a slough off the main channel of the Sacramento River halfway between Antioch and Rio Vista. There were some folks walking around on the old girl when I took this photo. It looks like they arrived by their own boat, which you can see tied up to San Diego.

Poor old boat. Pity no one ever did anything with her.



I didn't realize she'd only spent two seasons on the route--72 and 73.



And by Spring of 1974 the San Diego was gone...(Spring Steamboat Bill, 1974)


The fall 1974 issue of Steamboat Bill, has the official start date of state service on the Port Townsend-Keystone route--7 June 1974.




And the last entry mentioning the run until it says in the Fall 1979 issue that the new Issaquah Class ferries will retire (ha ha) the Olympic and Rhododendron. This is from Steamboat Bill, Summer 1975.

[Freeland]

My friend Bill Bailey mentions about both the San Diego and the Defiance.

Bill told me you could see the Defiance while going over to Snohomish on Highway 2 when it was a cannery.

Bill would go up to Port Angles to be a deck hand on the Kalakala. He would leave his folks summer cabin and take the San Diego at Keystone.

The restrooms had old wooden toilets with tank way up high with a pull chain.

From Port Townsend he would take a Bus to Port Angeles.

Emory in Freeland

[Barnacle]

Apr 27, 2011 10:11:56 GMT -8 Freeland said:

My friend Bill Bailey mentions about both the San Diego and the Defiance.

Bill told me you could see the Defiance while going over to Snohomish on Highway 2 when it was a cannery.

Interesting. I knew you could see the old Rosario down on the river, but I didn't know about the Defiance.

[Freeland]

You maybe right.

I will probably be talking to Bill in few days. The Steam Boat Bill article maybe steered me in wrong direction. That sounds like a pun.

[EGfleet]

After many years of sitting on the Delta, the former Olympic Ferries San Diego is headed to the scrapyard.

www.coronadonewsca.com/news/article_d85bf1b8-2cf3-11e1-809d-0019bb2963f4.html

and

www.contracostatimes.com/news/ci_19565082

[EGfleet]

I didn't post these photos directly as they are not mine... however...

www.flickr.com/photos/trhamiter/

Scroll down and there are three shots of the San Diego being towed to Mare Island on 18 January for asbestos removal and final scrapping.

[EGfleet]

Neat article on the final days of the San Diego, and it includes some interior photographs.

www.ecoronado.com/profiles/blogs/end-of-the-ferryboat-san-202012833

[SS San Mateo]

I came across this article at Maritime Matters:

maritimematters.com/2012/03/san-diego-scrapped-in-northern-california/

There's a picture showing most of the superstructure gone.

[FNS]

Here's a cropped postcard view of the MV SAN DIEGO in happier days serving her customers on San Diego Bay:

[FNS]

From the deck of the MV CORONADO, we see the MV SAN DIEGO doing one of her countless of crossings between the two cities.  We credit this slide photo to whomever took this.

The sad part of this is that these two ferries are gone now and no longer to be seen anymore.  In my opinion, these were nice pleasing ferries to look at.  The SAN DIEGO's whistles sounded close to the same as our Puget Sound KDT ferries do today.

[EGfleet]

Back in the mid-late 70's, when WSF was desperate for additional ferries, they sent a delegation up to inspect the Klondike Queen, aka San Diego for possible purchase.  After looking out in thoroughly, and firing up the engine, the engineers quickly determined the ferry was in too poor of shape for the state to purchase, and they passed.  Happily, (and courtesy of the Mr. Byrne's collection again) they took photos.

and here she is with her engines fired up...