San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay history
The city's history is marked by several major events, including the 1848 Gold Rush, the 1906 earthquake and fire, women’s rights movement and the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. 1969-1970s and the first nations, Native American occupation of Alcatraz for 180 days by students of UC Berkeley and San Francisco State university. Not to mention it’s impact on cargo and resources on the western front. It was an atmosphere for new innovation and entrepreneurship of all creeds, colors, cultures, backgrounds, and genders.
Gaslight facts
Schooner GAS LIGHT is a replica of a SF Bay scow schooner of the same name built in San Francisco in 1874. This type of vessel was the eighteen-wheeler of its day and circa 1900 there were a fleet of about 600 of these boats delivering goods all around the Bay and its tributaries. Scow schooners hauled hay, bricks, lumber, grain, and even oyster shells to be used in chicken feed. The last of the original fleet of scow schooners is the Alma, part of the National Maritime Museum collection.
Sailing on the GAS LIGHT offers a rare glimpse into the life of the Bay Area before the age of highways and bridges.
GAS LIGHT features a 18' by 30', wide-open cabin below decks with a 12' long mahogany salon table and plenty of seating. Because of her flat-bottomed hull design she sails very flat and stable, making food and beverage service unusually easy and comfortable. GAS LIGHT is available for birthday parties, weddings, memorials, corporate events, educational and ecological tours of the Bay.
SPECS:
Overall length 72'
Length on deck 50'
Beam 19'
Draft with centerboard up 3' 4"
Draft with centerboard down 7' 4"
Height of mainmast above waterline 68'
Square footage of sail: 1991 sqft
Engine: Detroit Diesel 671
Hull: steel
Masts: Douglas Fir cut from Humboldt County
Cabin tops and interior are Fir and Cedar
Rig: Gaff Schooner
GAS LIGHT was built here in Sausalito by Billy Martinelli, owner and operator of the vessel. She was launched as a bare hull in 1991 and earned her US Coast Guard certification as a small passenger vessel in 2000. She is licensed to carry up to 49 passengers and is available for private charter.
Waterfront history
For most of San Francisco’s history, its heart and soul was its port.
The City Front, as the waterfront was called, was the engine that drove the city’s economy. Every day, it swarmed with longshoremen, sailors and other workers of all sorts, as well as thousands of people coming and going from the trains, buses, cable cars and taxis that connected with the Ferry Building.
In 1933, in the depths of the Depression, 7,000 ships entered and left the city’s 82 piers. Most of those ships carried cargo that had to be loaded or discharged — longshoremen’s work.
It was hard, dangerous labor. The bars and cafes on East Street, as the Embarcadero was called, were no strangers to men on crutches, missing fingers or eyes, or otherwise scarred by years of toil grappling with heavy loads on the piers, in the holds and on the decks. San Francisco, or at least the City Front, was truly Muscle City.
The vast majority of goods handled at San Francisco was so-called break-bulk cargo. This was cargo that could be broken into pieces — barrels, boxes or sacks — capable of being handled by one man or a small team.
It was not a job for a 98-pound weakling. A 1932 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics bulletin by Boris Stern, titled “Cargo Handling and Longshore Labor Conditions,” describes some of the cargo that men or teams of men were expected to lift. They ranged from bags of flour (100-150 pounds) to coffee (135-200 pounds) to linseed and other oils (200-300 pounds) to bales of Egyptian cotton (750 pounds) to hogsheads of tobacco (500-1,000 pounds).
Obviously, a single longshoreman was not expected to lift a 1,000-pound hogshead of tobacco. But he was expected to handle a 330-pound bag of raw Cuban sugar. To place this in context, it’s worth noting that federal regulations now specify that one person is not to lift more than 50 pounds.
As Stern writes, the “essential requirements for the job of a longshoreman are a mighty arm, a hard muscle, and a large, strong back.” He also notes that learning how to load a ship in such a way as to make the best use of the space without the cargo shifting, which could damage it or the vessel, took several years to learn.
Such work, he writes, “is undoubtedly skilled labor, and should be classified as such.”
The port’s modern heyday came during the late 1930s, when San Francisco was the second-largest port in the U.S. in the value of its cargo. Different parts of the port specialized in different cargo. Copra — dried coconut meat used to make coconut oil — was processed at the “copra dock” at Pier 84, on Islais Creek. Bananas were stored at Pier 60, on the south side of Channel Street. Pears, apples, plums and grapes from the Central Valley were stored at a State Shipside Refrigeration terminal on the north side of China Basin. Vegetable oils were loaded at Pier 38, at the foot of Townsend Street.
As Michael Corbett notes in “Port City: The History and Transformation of the Port of San Francisco, 1848-2010,” improvements in the moving of cargo took place over decades, often in incremental steps.
In the port’s early days, cargo was moved by man- or animal-powered winches connected to booms. In 1881, the steam donkey, a portable steam engine, replaced human and animal power. In 1920, the port began supplying electrical power to the piers.
The Bureau of Labor’s 1932 bulletin details how various types of cargo were moved in San Francisco in the 1920s and ’30s. Most of the gear used — powered winches, cables and booms — was aboard the ships, not on the piers.
The simplest means of loading cargo, the “whip,” involved one winch and one boom. The boom was placed over the cargo hatch. Longshoremen would load cargo onto a sling on the apron of the pier. The “fall” — the cable — was passed around the winch and connected to a hook that held the sling.
The winch was started and the sling was dragged up a ramp, or skid, over the railing of the ship and above the hatch. The sling was then lowered into the hatch. The sling was prevented from swinging side to side by a worker holding a rope attached to the hook.
Workers in the hold would unload the cargo, the sling would be winched out, and the process would begin again. For unloading cargo, the whip was insufficient and two booms and two winches were used.
The work was performed by groups of longshoremen known as gangs, which varied from 12 to 40 men. The speed with which gangs could move cargo was crucial to the economic success of the shipping line, and the amount of break-bulk cargo longshoremen could move, using relatively primitive methods, is remarkable.
San Francisco, for example, was unmatched at loading raw sugar, which arrived from Hawaii in bags weighing 135 pounds. In 1926, San Francisco longshoremen recorded an average of 1,681 bags per gang-hour, a rate equaled only by New York.
The arrival of container ships in 1958 spelled doom for San Francisco as a working port. As a child in the 1960s, I watched longshoremen using a boom and a sling unloading bales of cargo at a pier north of the Ferry Building. But that was break-bulk’s last hurrah.
The great piers where sweating men hauled heavy loads onto and off ships from around the world now house cruise ships or design firms, or stand empty. The Port of San Francisco still handles some cargo. But Muscle City is gone forever.
Buried ships
Richard Everett, a retired curator at the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park, estimates that about 40 buried ships have been found under the city, and there are likely more. Most were reburied, with bits and pieces preserved in local museums. But the Candace is unusual
Every day in San Francisco, people walk the city’s streets unaware of the history that our concrete jungle holds in its depths. Little do most people know that roughly 40 ships are buried underneath the Embarcadero and the Financial District, which used to be the city’s original shoreline.
Most of the vessels are remnants of the Gold Rush, left behind by men who arrived in the San Francisco Bay from near and far in search of fortune. Today, the abandoned ships are all around us—a hidden reminder of the city’s history.
“So much of San Francisco is its relationship to the water.”
“Other cities have their claims to fame, but beneath our streets and sidewalks lie the bones of the Gold Rush city and the decks of ships once trucked by forty-niners,” said archaeologist James Delgado, who has been studying SF’s ships for decades.
Delgado received his first big assignment back in 1978 while working for the National Park Service: excavating and studying the remains of the Niantic, one of the first whaling vessels that brought gold-seekers to the area. It had been discovered near the Transamerica Pyramid at the corner of Clay and Sansome streets. After being left behind during the Gold Rush, the ship had been repurposed to serve as a storeship, saloon, and hotel until its demise in an 1851 fire.
“That discovery inspired me as an archaeologist and an early stage in my career,” Delgado said. “I decided to focus on the maritime world, because ships and shipwrecks are fascinating.”
Today, you can see some of the artifacts: An oil painting circa 1836–1839, an elaborate letter holder shaped like the head of a duck, and a percussion pistol fragment, among others, are on display at the Maritime Museum and Visitors Center. One of the most prominent discoveries is the copper-clad ship’s stern, which still contains charred pieces from the 1851 fire.
For Delgado, the unearthed remains serve as an important reminder of a San Francisco of the past.
“I provide a perspective of the creation of San Francisco and the ongoing success of it as a port city — something that kept it going for well over a century,” he said. “It’s the basic foundation of the city, economically and culturally. So much of San Francisco is its relationship to the water.”
The Maritime National Historical Park, the National Park Service, and its staff have worked tirelessly alongside archaeologists like Delgado on research that largely started back in the 1960s with the development of the first map depicting the possible locations of where these Gold Rush ships were buried. Over the years, that map has evolved, and with the extensive archeologists’ research, the locations of the handful of ships that have been unearthed, as well as the potential sites of the remains of others, are clearly depicted in the newest map.
While walking around San Francisco often feels rushed, it is worth it to stop by, take a second to breathe, look around, and appreciate the San Francisco that came before us.
The first one to be discovered was the Apollo, a ship discovered in downtown SF in the 1920s — along with coins and a gold nugget. The Apollo’s stem timber is now on display at the Maritime Visitors Center. Other discoveries have come since, like the General Harrison at the corner of Battery and Clay streets under Yank Sing restaurant. Among what was found: ash and melted glass from when the ship was destroyed in the 1851 fire, like the Niantic.
“The mud exposed by the excavation is the original bay floor, sloping as it heads offshore,” Delgado said. “The water is seawater, as the tide still rises and falls in the landfill beneath the Financial District.”
While some ships, like the Niantic and General Harrison, were repurposed for use after being left behind by forty-niners, other ships were purposely sunk. Back then, San Francisco had a law that allowed land rights over where a ship had sunk. So, folks wanting to take residence in the city took advantage of this—those ships that were sunk suddenly had an owner claiming over the land. Such is the case with the Rome, discovered in 1994 (far too large to fully excavate) located under the bocce ball courts in front of the Ferry Building. If you’re a Muni rider — especially one who rides the N Judah, K Ingleside, and T Third lines, the tunnel that the train passes through is comprised of the forward hull.
In 2005, the bones of another ship, the Candace, were found at the corner of Spear and Folsom streets. This location is known to be a former ship-breaking yard, where a man named Charles Hare would employ Chinese laborers for a cheap cost to dismantle ships left behind in this area. The valuable items — brass, bronze, copper fixtures, and wood — would be taken by smaller ships to sell elsewhere until the 1851 fire, which put Hare out of business.
Many people, even those with deep generational ties to the city, are unaware of these buried ships and their history. Yet they influenced and shaped the history of this city and this country. While walking around San Francisco often feels rushed, it is worth it to stop by, take a second to breathe, look around, and appreciate the San Francisco that came before us.
“As someone who grew up in the Bay Area but hadn’t really paid too much attention, I remember standing there looking at a historical plaque outside the Transamerica Pyramid and trying to imagine that somewhere below me was the beach upon which the tide had once lapped,” Delgado said.
“Beneath the streets and sidewalks, there is something more than just a romantic story or the hull of a ship,” he said. “There is an archaeological site that to the rest of the world is a Pompeii, a Gold-Rush Pompeii.”
As the city evolves into the future, people will always continue discovering remnants of a past San Francisco.
“Ultimately, as an archaeologist, I know that old things crumble, old people die, things go away,” he said. “The city will once again go into a transition, but we know that people will pick up and keep going. While things pass, there will always be a San Francisco.”
Golden Gate
In 1775 the San Carlos, navigated by Juan Manuel de Ayala, was the first European ship to sail through the strait. The name Golden Gate was given in 1846 by Captain John C. Frémont in analogy to the Golden Horn of the Bosporus (Turkey) when he visualized rich cargoes from the Orient flowing through the strait.
Rather than being named for the area's association with the Gold Rush, it's actually named for the water that runs beneath it—The Golden Gate Strait. It's just one of the many historical facts about the Golden Gate Bridge that not too many people realize.
Native Americans
The Ohlone are the predominant Indigenous group of the Bay Area, including the Chochenyo and the Karkin in East Bay, the Ramaytush in San Francisco, the Yokuts in South Bay and Central Valley, and the Muwekma tribe throughout the region.
Names of tribes in the Bay Area
Ohlone
Maidu
Esselen
Chumash people
Yokuts
Pomo
Wappo
Miwok
Tübatulabal
Coast Miwok
Ramaytush
Karkin people
Pala Reservation
Chilula
Chochenyo
The present-day Muwekma Ohlone Tribe is comprised of surviving American Indian lineages aboriginal to the San Francisco Bay region who trace their ancestry through the Missions Dolores, Santa Clara, and San Jose; and who were also members of the historic Federally Recognized Verona Band of Alameda County.
The Occupation of Alcatraz (November 20, 1969 – June 11, 1971) was a 19-month long protest when 89 Native Americans and their supporters occupied Alcatraz Island. The protest was led by Richard Oakes, LaNada Means, and others, while John Trudell served as spokesman. The group lived on the island together until the protest was forcibly ended by the U.S. government.
The protest group chose the name Indians of All Tribes (IAT) for themselves.[1] IAT claimed that, under the Treaty of Fort Laramie between the U.S. and the Lakota tribe, all retired, abandoned, or out-of-use federal land was to be returned to the Indigenous peoples who once occupied it. As Alcatraz penitentiary had been closed on March 21, 1963, and the island had been declared surplus federal property in 1964, a number of Red Power activists felt that the island qualified for a reclamation by Indians.
The Occupation of Alcatraz had a brief effect on federal Indian Termination policies and established a precedent for Indian activism. Oakes was shot to death in 1972, and the American Indian Movement was later targeted by the federal government and the FBI in COINTELPRO operations.
San Francisco fire earthquake 1906
April 18, 1906 at 5:12 AM GMT-8
On the morning of April 18, 1906, a massive earthquake shook San Francisco, California. Though the quake lasted less than a minute, its immediate impact was disastrous. The earthquake also ignited several fires around the city that burned for three days and destroyed nearly 500 city blocks.
Despite a quick response from San Francisco's large military population, the city was devastated. The earthquake and fires killed an estimated 3,000 people and left half of the city's 400,000 residents homeless. Aid poured in from around the country and the world, but those who survived faced weeks of difficulty and hardship.
The survivors slept in tents in city parks and the Presidio, stood in long lines for food, and were required to do their cooking in the street to minimize the threat of additional fires. The San Francisco earthquake is considered one of the worst natural disasters in U.S. history.
Congress responded to the disaster in several ways. The House and the Senate Appropriations Committees enacted emergency appropriations for the city to pay for food, water, tents, blankets, and medical supplies in the weeks following the earthquake and fire. They also appropriated funds to reconstruct many of the public buildings that were damaged or destroyed.
Other congressional responses included the House Claims Committee handling claims from owners seeking reimbursement for destroyed property. For example, the committee received claims from the owners of several saloons and liquor stores, whose supplies of alcoholic spirits were destroyed by law enforcement officers trying to minimize the spread of fires and threat of mob violence. In the days following the earthquake, officials destroyed an estimated $30,000 worth of intoxicating liquors.
The Senate Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds reporting on buildings damaged in San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, and estimates of cost of repairs. The Senate also passed a resolution asking the Secretary of War to furnish the Senate with a copy of a report on the earthquake and fire. The report on the relief efforts and accompanying captioned photographs, prepared by the U.S. Army, are now housed with the records of the Senate Committee on Printing.
Women entrepreneur in sf
Mary Ellen Pleasant (August 19, 1814[a] – January 11, 1904[b]) was a 19th-century entrepreneur, financier, real estate magnate and abolitionist. She was arguably the first self-made millionaire of African-American heritage, preceding Madam C. J. Walker by decades.
She identified herself as "a capitalist by profession" in the 1890 United States census.[10] Her aim was to earn as much money as she was able to help as many people as she could. With her riches she was able to provide transportation, housing, and food for survival. She trained people how to stay safe, succeed, carry themselves, and more. The "one woman social agency" served African Americans before and during the Civil War, as well as meeting a different set of needs after Emancipation.
She worked on the Underground Railroad and expanded it westward during the California Gold Rush era. She was a friend and financial supporter of John Brown and was well known among abolitionists. She helped women who lived in California during the California Gold Rush to stay safe and become self-sufficient. After the Civil War, she won several civil rights victories that resulted in her being called "The Mother of Human Rights in California". Legal battles, though, had mixed results.[11]
Realizing that she was in a tenuous position as a black woman who had gained political and financial power, she sought ways to blend in to the culture of the times. She portrayed herself as a housekeeper and a cook, long after she was wealthy, but she used these roles to get to know wealthy citizens and gain information for her investments. In the 1870s, she made the acquaintance of Thomas Bell, a wealthy banker and capitalist, which helped her make money and keep her riches and true financial status a secret. She spent her money, and developed the plans, to build a large mansion that outwardly was to seem as if it was the Bells' residence. She assumed the role of housekeeper for the Bells, but it was not a secret in the city that she actually ran the household, managed the servants, and also managed the relationships among the Bells.
Author Edward White said of her: "As an entrepreneur, civil-rights activist, and benefactor, Mary Ellen Pleasant made a name and a fortune for herself in Gold Rush–era San Francisco, shattering racial taboos."[3]
San Francisco marine life
California sea lion en.wikipedia.org
Harbor seal en.wikipedia.org
Sea otter en.wikipedia.org
Sea lions www.fws.gov
Salt marsh harvest mouse www.fisheries.noaa.gov
Gray whale t1.gstatic.com
Humpback whale en.wikipedia.org
California ground squirrel www.fisheries.noaa.gov
Harbor porpoise t1.gstatic.com
Raccoon en.wikipedia.org
Bat ray en.wikipedia.org
River otter en.wikipedia.org
Tule elk en.wikipedia.org
Double-crested cormorant t0.gstatic.com
Sharks en.wikipedia.org
Delta smelt ebird.org
Great blue heron en.wikipedia.org
Leopard shark ebird.org
Western gull www.fisheries.noaa.gov
Northern elephant seal t0.gstatic.com
Great white shark www.allaboutbirds.org
American avocet www.allaboutbirds.org
Black-necked stilt t0.gstatic.com
Delphinus delphis
The Bay Area is a prime destination for discovering the wonderful and wild world of California wildlife. From the cool, blue depths of San Francisco Bay, to the sage-covered hills of Mount Diablo, the Bay area offers a multitude of species - mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish and insects. There is a great variety of natural places with varying habitats for the nature lover to explore.
Ending
Here at Baylights Charters we want to make sure that people understand not just the historical aspects of how San Francisco came to be but also how essential it is for the future generations to value that these are archaeological and cultural areas worth preserving.