Maritime Marvels

American history is maritime history—it’s impossible to tell the story of the United States without it. From the smallest fishing trawler to a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, the economy of many great American cities has been tied to the water. And what is really exciting for group tours is the diversity of available experiences. Maritime museums often offer more than just walk-through exhibits. Many of them allow visitors to climb aboard historic vessels and get a view from the bridge. You’ll also find diversity in the destination, as the maritime cultures vary greatly among the bulk carriers of the Great Lakes, the lobstermen of New England, the military installations of the West Coast, and many more.

Learning maritime history can also challenge preconceived notions. To many travelers, the only relevant type of watercraft in San Diego, California, is a surfboard. But the maritime history in San Diego dates back nearly 500 years. Spanish ships under the command of Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo first sailed into San Diego Bay in 1542, and the natural deepwater port has been changing ever since, especially after the establishment of the first permanent Spanish colony in 1769. Old Point Loma Lighthouse, today not far from a monument to Cabrillo, was one of the first operating lighthouses on the West Coast when it was lit in 1855, shortly after California became a U.S. state.

It was around this same time that the military presence began to grow around the harbor, as the area was designated a military reserve in 1852. That long history is best experienced at the Maritime Museum of San Diego, literally on the waters of the bay along Harbor Drive. While some maritime museums feature exhibits within a building and then a separate space to visit its collection of vessels, the Maritime Museum of San Diego is placed entirely within its fleet of historic ships floating in the harbor. Four of them are still in operation for visitors to take a historic and educational cruise.

“The Maritime Museum of San Diego provides a unique, hands-on, interactive docent-led group tour of nine historic ships that cover over 500 years of maritime history,” says Dr. Jim Cassidy, docent training director for the museum. “This floating museum is a treasure trove for visitors seeking study, enlightenment, and entertainment walking the many decks, galleries, and exhibits staged among the fleet.”

The “star” of the show for groups, says Cassidy, is the Star of India, the world’s oldest active sailing ship that has become a San Diego landmark in its museum berthing. Built on the Isle of Man in 1863, the Star of India has sailed around the world 21 times. Although it rarely strays far from the San Diego coast today, it is kept in full sailing condition by a volunteer crew.

“Groups also are fascinated with their charter experiences aboard the 16th-century galleon San Salvador and official tall ship schooner of the state, Californian,” says Cassidy. “Narrated sightseeing tour options for groups also include 45-minute tours aboard a restored 1914 Pilot boat or 75-minute naval history tours hosted aboard the Vietnam-era PCF 816 Swift boat.”

San Diego’s is likely not the most famous bay in California. That would be San Francisco’s, which is larger and encompasses more communities. San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park, under the auspices of the National Park Service, features guided tours with park rangers highlighting noteworthy aspects of San Francisco maritime history. Of note to groups visiting soon: The museum’s collection of historical ships has been moved indefinitely to Mare Island in the North Bay city of Vallejo for restoration work.

THE ATLANTIC SIDE

Ever since the Mayflower set anchor near Plymouth Rock, shipping has played a vital role in the development of America’s eastern shores. If you wish to start at the beginning, you can view a replica of the Mayflower, constructed from original blueprints, at Plimoth Patuxet in modern-day Plymouth, Massachusetts.

It wasn’t long before colonists began building ships of their own, and Mystic Seaport in Connecticut has been a hub of shipbuilding for over 300 years. More than 600 vessels have been built on the shores of the Mystic River since, a legacy that a group of area businessmen sought to preserve in 1929 with the founding of what’s known today as the Mystic Seaport Museum.

Visitors can see some of those 600 historic vessels, including the Charles W. Morgan, a whaling ship from 1841 that is the oldest commercial ship still afloat, and the Sabino, a 1900s steamboat that once served as a vital transportation link before the advent of cars and buses. Groups can take advantage of discounted tickets, on-site dining options, and bus parking.

There are few more important rivers in the development of North America than the St. Lawrence, which has been a vital transportation corridor ever since the Indigenous nations of the region first navigated its waters. Situated in Clayton, New York, just across the river from Ontario, is the Antique Boat Museum, dedicated to preserving the transportation legacy of the 1000 Islands area. Unlike the oceangoing vessels of other maritime museums, the Antique Boat Museum is dedicated to freshwater craft, large and small.

One of the museum’s main attractions is La Duchesse, a 106-foot houseboat that was once the summer residence of New York City hotelier George Boldt. Special guided tours of La Duchesse can be booked alongside visits to the museum, which can be explored in 90 minutes to two hours. Groups can choose from self-guided or guided tours with a knowledgeable volunteer docent.

Down in Virginia, the maritime history is rich with civilian, commercial, and military operations. Norfolk is home to the largest naval complex in the world, Naval Station Norfolk, which supports the operations of the American Atlantic fleet. One of the many U.S. ships operating out of Norfolk was the USS Wisconsin, a battleship that served in World War II, the Korean War, and the Gulf War before becoming the centerpiece of the Nauticus maritime museum in Norfolk.

Groups today can not only walk the decks of the Wisconsin, but groups of up to 24 people can also spend the night aboard the legendary ship. Guests can sleep in the berthings that once accommodated enlisted sailors, chat with retired Navy personnel, and get a VIP guided tour. Groups that opt to just visit for the day will find plenty to enjoy as well, with a full slate of museum exhibits in addition to the Wisconsin.

SOME ‘GREAT’ HISTORY

While maritime history might draw one’s mind to one of the coasts, don’t forget about the vital role the Great Lakes have and continue to play in American shipping. Simply watching massive Great Lakes bulk carriers navigate these waters can be an entertaining pastime in and of itself, but the region is also dotted with fascinating museums to learn more. On the Upper Peninsula of Michigan sits the Marquette Maritime Museum and its centerpiece, the Marquette Lighthouse.

The current lighthouse dates to 1866, though it has taken on many different forms and designs over 150-plus years. Marquette was an important city for shipping iron ore, and the lighthouse an essential safeguard in the early years of the ore trade. Visitors can now get guided tours of the lighthouse, in addition to exploring the museum that contains exhibits on some of the most famous shipwrecks on the Great Lakes.

Without a doubt, the most famous of those shipwrecks is that of the Edmund Fitzgerald, which sank in Lake Superior during a severe storm on Nov. 10, 1975. Immortalized in a Gordon Lightfoot song, the Fitzgerald continues to fascinate both maritime enthusiasts and the general public alike, in part due to the mysterious nature of its disappearance. None of its crew were ever found, and the exact cause of the sinking remains unknown.

Visitors to the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum in Paradise, Michigan, can get up close with some of what does remain from the Edmund Fitzgerald, most notably the ship’s bell, recovered from the wreck in 1995. But that’s just the beginning of the history that awaits visitors at the museum.

“Most people hear about us because we have the bell of the Edmund Fitzgerald in our museum,” says Corey Adkins, communications/content director for the museum. “But what we see is when people get here, they get to learn about many other shipwrecks and stories of life and loss. We have hundreds of shipwrecks outside our backdoor under the waters.”

Indeed, the Whitefish Point area of the Upper Peninsula where the museum is located is known as the “Graveyard of the Great Lakes.” More than 200 are located within the Whitefish Point vicinity, and 550 are somewhere in Lake Superior. “People often call the Shipwreck Museum ‘hauntingly beautiful’ because of the stories we tell,” says Adkins, “and we want folks to walk away with a sense of history, lifesaving, shipwrecks, and the solitude of the beauty of the area.”

Besides the fascinating shipwreck history, there is the oldest active lighthouse on Lake Superior, as well as an exhibit on how the lighthouse keepers lived, and a restored lifeboat house from 1923. New this year is an exhibit on the wreck of the A.A. Parker, a wooden steamship that sank in 1903, miraculously with no loss of life. Groups will enjoy warm hospitality, free bus parking, and a gift shop with unique merchandise found nowhere else.

“After people visit our museum and the other sites, most people walk out onto the beach and take in what they just learned,” says Adkins. “Whitefish Point is full of history that leaves folks in amazement of [all] that took place on that point.”

By Todd Kortemeier

Main Image: Schooner Californian off the coast of Point Loma, San Diego; Credit: George Adkins