I’ve been fascinated with the history of sailing ships ever since the summer of 1979, when I was at a KOA campground near Victoria, B.C. and found a paperback in their small store written by Alexander Kent. The book was called “Form Line of Battle,” and it sent me on a search for more books by the same author. Actually, I had already read one or two of C.S. Forester’s Hornblower books, so that little extra nudge was all I needed to set off a fullblown obsession. That helps explain why I could barely drag myself away from the San Francisco Maritime Museum at Hyde Street Pier when I visited last August. I wanted to spend as much time and shoot as many photos as possible, just to soak in the atmosphere before returning home to the Sacramento Valley.

Deck of the CA Thayer

Even so, I’ve read enough to know that despite the beauty of sleek hulls and towering sails, life aboard ship was never easy. It was a difficult and dangerous job, and there were little or no safety procedures in place. Still, once the sea was in their blood, sailors preferred life at sea to that of a landlubber.

Sign in restroom, Hyde Street Pier