Information Insertion by Sean Mahan, qwerty uiop
May 27th, 2006 9:30 PM / Location: 37.807277,-122.4298
Out in one of the parking lots of Fort Mason, there is the stern of a ship, labeled "Galilee, San Francisco", protruding from one of the Fort walls. No explanation, just the back of a boat, a crude roof above it, and a few "KEEP OUT" signs reinforcing the message of a couple sections of Rent-a-Fence.Clearly, this represents a definite absence of information. After a little internet browsing, I had my information ready to go:
The Galilee – Queen of the Sea
The Galilee was a 180-foot brigantine built at the Matthew
Turner Shipyard in Benicia in 1891. It is considered to be the
most beautiful of all 228 ships built by Matthew Turner. Turner
was a pioneer of new principles and techniques in ship design.
He reversed the old models and made ships long and sharp
forward, lean and full on the water line aft. "Bermuda Sail" was
introduced by Matthew Turner.
Bermuda, also known as The Somers Isles, was
discovered by the early 1500s. It was certainly known by 1511,
when Peter Martyr published his Legatio Babylonica, which
mentioned Bermuda. The discovery is attributed to a Spanish
explorer, Juan de Bermudez. Both Spanish and Portuguese
ships used the islands as a replenishment spot for fresh meat
and water, but legends of spirits and devils, now thought to
have stemmed only from the callings of raucous birds (most
likely the Bermuda Petrel), and of perpetual, storm-wracked
conditions kept them from attempting any permanent settlement
on the “Isle of Devils”.
The English word devil derives via Middle English devel
and Old English dēofol and Latin Diábolus, from Late Greek
Diabolos, meaning, slanderer, from diaballein, to slander: dia-,
across + ballein, to hurl. The term devil can refer to a greater
demon in the hierarchy of Hell. In other languages devil may be
derived from the same Proto-Indo-European root word for deva,
which roughly translates as "angel". However, a "deva" or "diva"
is not a devil.
"Diva" may also have a negative connotation, as the word
can imply that the star believes the only thing that matters is her
person, and that everyone involved in a project must cater to
her every whim. They stereotypically throw tantrums, which
receive a lot of attention from the mass media.
My sources were The Benecia Historical Museum web page, and one or two or three pages from the Wikipedia. The Wikipedia folks apparently think the Diva article may not be neutral, but my hope is that the plaque will be appropriately educational nonetheless.Luckily, I had bought a pretty spiffy blank plaque from SCRAP a while back, so I printed it out, mounted it, drilled a couple holes, and we were off to Fort Mason.
When we got there, a few people were looking at the boat; finding nothing to explain it, they took a picture or two and left. With any luck, they'll be the last people to have to do that - we mounted the plaque, and if I may say so, it looks as fantastic as it is informative. Have a look at the pics, and post a comment if you swing by there and the plaque has gone missing.
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but... WHY IS IT STICKING OUT OF THE BUILDING?!!
In my defence, you can see the SF0 label in one of the pictures. It's a little hidden, because I wanted to put something "SF0" on there, but I didn't want people to read the text and then just think, "Oh, it's just some internet thing."
Also, I have no idea why it is where it is. Even the real experts don't mention why it would be at Fort Mason at all, let alone sticking out of a wall.
I googled "why is the Galilee sticking out of fort mason"
i dont know how legit the source is, but it seems to have an answer.
GALILEE HARBOR
In the August issue Sightings, under the heading Galilee Harbor Celebration, there was a reference to the origin of the name being "lost in the mists of time." I hate to think that describes me, but I can relate at least some of the history.
When the heyday of commercial sailing vessels came to an end sometime in the '20s, many of the old wooden boats were laid up in Bay Area backwaters and left to rot. Some were burned to salvage the metal in them. The Alameda Estuary, Benicia and Richardson Bay were the final resting places of many fine old vessels that had outlived their usefulness. The Galilee was one of those vessels.
She was a freight-carrying sailing ship. My memory tells me that at one time she held a record for making the fastest passage from the West Coast to Tahiti with a cargo of lumber. I believe that record was never beaten by a commercial vessel under sail. When her useful life was over, she was grounded, stern to, opposite the foot of Napa Street in Sausalito. As a young man, I remember that her transom was prominently visible to everyone who drove by on Bridgeway. People lived aboard her, as was evidenced by the flower pots on her stern. As years went by, she gradually became more decrepit.
At some point her history became of interest to, I'm guessing, the San Francisco Maritime Museum, under the direction of Karl Kortum. This was before the museum was turned over to the National Park Service. About 18 feet of her stern was salvaged and removed to Fort Mason, where it can be seen propped up against a retaining wall in the lower area near the piers. From her scantlings, it is obvious that she was a fairly large vessel, possibly on the order of the C.A. Thayer. In fact, she could possibly have been one of the coastal lumber schooners. That could explain the cargo she was carrying to Tahiti.
By the time I first saw her, her rig was already gone. This was many years ago, so indeed, many of the details have probably been lost "in the mists of time."
Remo Patri
The 'Old Sailor From Sonoma'
this is awesome and the perfect subject for this task! i used to take art classes down there as a kid and have been seeing that boat for years, never knowing what wasup with it. I love that you actually posted it on a plaque!
I was recently working at Ft. Mason for PhotoSF, and during load-in, I noted the ass of the ship sticking out of the retaining wall. I asked my boss why it was there, she having worked at the Maritime museum, and she told me this:
The ship was donated to the Maritime Museum (who's offices are up on top of the hill, above the ship) but they didn't have any place to put it, nor did they have the funding to build anything better than the shoddy roof that's on there still. Apparently, the director had the idea that leaning it up against the wall was the best option, and although some slight attempt was made to raise some funds to help preserve it, nothing much has been done about it in over a decade.
Funny, when she was explaining this, she pointed out that there was no signage to explain why there's a boat in the middle of the parking lot. Turns out, I guess there was! Next time I have access to a car, I'm going to have to go over there and see if it's still up.
I was down at Ft. Mason this weekend, doing a photo shoot, and I checked up on the plaque- it's still there, and rocking it's SF0 sticker.
Your execution of this task is most admirable, and reading about it gives great pleasure, albeit tinged with regret that I shall not be able to visit the plaque in person on account of its removal by some sorry person.
May 28th 2006 9:30AM
i wonder why you didnt document this side
reprezent!