It’s been a few years since we visited San Diego’s Maritime Museum, but these ships are still on display at the Maritime Museum of San Diego. They’re a great illustration of the difficulties of life on the high seas before today’s modern vessels.

On the way to San Diego Maritime Museum

Our trip began with a ride on the Coaster, which picked us up in Carlsbad and transported us to the Santa Fe Depot in San Diego, which opened in 1915. Just walking around was like taking a step back in time. Don’t you just love that amazing architecture?

The Maritime Museum is less than a mile walk from the Santa Fe Depot, so off we went. On foot. With only one or two minor course corrections, we arrived at our destination eager to check out the old ships. And wow, do they have them!

The Star of India

We began with the Star of India. The Star is the world’s oldest active sailing ship. Its tall masts climb skywards as though they’re reaching for the sun itself. While walking the deck, it was hard not to wonder what it would have been like to have been on this ship when it first set sail. Below deck, the ample space now serves as a display chronicling the progression of sailing through the ages. Click here to learn more about the Star of India.

The HMS Surprise

One reason we went to the San Diego Maritime Museum is that I was writing the fourth Seaside Cove Bed & Breakfast Mystery and wanted to get the feel of an old ship. The HMS Surprise is a replica of an 18th Century British Royal Navy frigate. That’s about 200 years shy of what I needed, but it still helped. Built in the 1970s, the Surprise sailed the seas for thirty years as an attraction ship until Hollywood filmmakers refurbished it for the Academy-award-winning film, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World. Thanks to Hollywood, the Surprise has authentic details you’ll find on no other ship in the world.

Life on the high seas was hard

One thing you quickly realize while touring these old ships: a life on the high seas was a hard one. There were very few creature comforts—unless you’re talking about the times you’d spend sharing your living space with the livestock! It’s a lot more fun to visit and fantasize than it would have been to be there!

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