Water Taxi Adventure With The Finch's June 2014

Sailing Sailing Over The Bounding Main (Page One)

  An aqua-adventure with the Finch's June 2014

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Let The Party Begin!

An aqua-adventure with the Finch's June 2014
We began with a drink at Malarkey's Irish Bar

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Our staring point

An aqua-adventure with the Finch's June 2014
The taxi arrives at 11:55 sharp

An aqua-adventure with the Finch's June 2014
Captain Brian is ready to board

An aqua-adventure with the Finch's June 2014
It was rather airish so we decided to sit inside

An aqua-adventure with the Finch's June 2014
Comfy??

An aqua-adventure with the Finch's June 2014
Brian explains about sumbarines

An aqua-adventure with the Finch's June 2014

An aqua-adventure with the Finch's June 2014
Paul and Sue are ready to go!

An aqua-adventure with the Finch's June 2014
Here we go

An aqua-adventure with the Finch's June 2014
We depart Alamitos Bay into the breakwater
between Alamitos Bay and Rainbow Harbor

An aqua-adventure with the Finch's June 2014
"So... does this ship have a good safety record?"

An aqua-adventure with the Finch's June 2014
Sailing out the inlet we see all sorts of boats

Did You Know? - A boat is a watercraft of any size designed to float or plane, to work or travel on water. Small boats are typically found on inland (lakes) or in protected coastal areas.

However, boats such as the whaleboat were designed for operation from a ship in an offshore environment. In naval terms, a boat is a vessel small enough to be carried aboard another vessel (a ship).

Another less restrictive definition is a vessel that can be lifted out of the water. Some definitions do not make a distinction in size, as 1000-foot bulk freighters on the Great Lakes are called oreboats.

For reasons of naval tradition, submarines are usually referred to as 'boats' rather than 'ships', regardless of their size.

An aqua-adventure with the Finch's June 2014
The sailboats were like mosquitos

An aqua-adventure with the Finch's June 2014
White Island... One of the four manmade islands in Long Beach Harbor

Did You Know? - The THUMS Islands are a set of four artificial islands in San Pedro Bay off the coast of Long Beach, California. They were built in 1965 to tap into the East Wilmington Oil Field. The landscaping and sound walls were designed to camouflage the operation and reduce noise, and they are the only decorated oil islands in the United States

Since 1967, they have been known as the Astronaut Islands, having been renamed in honor of four of the first American astronauts to lose their lives. Island Grissom, Island White, and Island Chaffee were named after the Apollo 1 astronauts, and Island Freeman for the astronaut who died while piloting a T-38 Talon jet for NASA.

An aqua-adventure with the Finch's June 2014
Speeding along at 17 knots...

An aqua-adventure with the Finch's June 2014
Brian knows why we sat inside now

An aqua-adventure with the Finch's June 2014
Follow the rules

An aqua-adventure with the Finch's June 2014
Queen Mary straight ahead

An aqua-adventure with the Finch's June 2014
The harbor was fairly busy today

An aqua-adventure with the Finch's June 2014
The pilican was gliding along behind the boat looking for lunch

An aqua-adventure with the Finch's June 2014
Grissom Island

An aqua-adventure with the Finch's June 2014
Inspiration and the Queen Mary
A study in time

An aqua-adventure with the Finch's June 2014
We had great seats away form the wind

An aqua-adventure with the Finch's June 2014
Aqualink II passes by on her way to Alamitos Bay

An aqua-adventure with the Finch's June 2014
Like lookking in a mirror

An aqua-adventure with the Finch's June 2014
The Queen is always beautiful

An aqua-adventure with the Finch's June 2014
Rainbow Harbor straight ahead

An aqua-adventure with the Finch's June 2014
The Inspiration gets a drink from the fuel barge

An aqua-adventure with the Finch's June 2014

An aqua-adventure with the Finch's June 2014

Did You Know? - It's safe to say that a more distinctive pier never adorned the Southern California shore. Unlike the many pleasure piers that stretched beyond the breakers only to dead-end above the ocean's swells, the Rainbow Pier in Long Beach extended more than a quarter-mile into the cold Pacific before arcing back to shore. The 3,800-foot-long structure resembled a giant horseshoe, or a rainbow -- hence its name.

But its shape was not all that made the Rainbow Pier unique. It was also among the first of its kind designed explicitly for the automobile. Built atop a granite breakwater, the pier's roadway could easily support the weight of a motorcar. And the fact that the road returned to shore eliminated the need for awkward turnarounds.

"When it is finished it will be possible to board an automobile any dark night in Los Angeles, bowl over a continuously illuminated boulevard all the way from the metropolis via the great white way of Huntington Park to Long Beach, and then out from shore...over the ocean," the Los Angeles Times reported in 1913, long before the pier was actually built.

An aqua-adventure with the Finch's June 2014
The dredge and pile driver was busy adding another pier pilings

An aqua-adventure with the Finch's June 2014
We missed all the noise... The concrete pilings are stacked on the deck

An aqua-adventure with the Finch's June 2014
Parker's Light House restaurant

Did You Know? - Rainbow Harbor / Rainbow Marina is located next to the Aquarium of the Pacific, and has 87 slips for commercial and recreational vessels. There is a 100-foot long dock inside the marina for day guests, and 250 feet of day guest mooring, outside the entrance to the Harbor. Day mooring is first come first served, with a three (3) hour time limit. Rainbow Harbor has twelve, 150-foot docks for commercial vessels. Shoreline Village overlooks Rainbow Marina with arcades and restaurants.

Attractions include Whale Watching, Dinner Cruises, Private Charters, Sport Fishing, Boat Rentals, Personal Watercraft Rentals and shuttle buses and boats to other attractions and facilities in Long Beach.

An aqua-adventure with the Finch's June 2014
Coming and going

An aqua-adventure with the Finch's June 2014
The lighthouse really works

An aqua-adventure with the Finch's June 2014
We will be landing next to a paddle wheeler

An aqua-adventure with the Finch's June 2014
The Melodrama Theater is a fun place to go

An aqua-adventure with the Finch's June 2014
Gladstones awaits us

An aqua-adventure with the Finch's June 2014
The paddle wheeler operats in the evening for dinner cruises

An aqua-adventure with the Finch's June 2014
Good place to sit and watch the harbors activities

An aqua-adventure with the Finch's June 2014
We are off the ship for about 30 minutes

An aqua-adventure with the Finch's June 2014
We are tied off and ready to explore the local pier

An aqua-adventure with the Finch's June 2014
TIme for a drink

An aqua-adventure with the Finch's June 2014
Zack did the installs and set up on all the Gladstone TV's

An aqua-adventure with the Finch's June 2014
The Grand Romance Riverboat

Did You Know? - The Grand Romance Riverboat was built in a sand lot near the Noyo river in Fort Bragg, Ca. by Daniel Steel Co. and the Barker Family. It is the brainchild of Captain Bill Barker. "We were running fishing charters in Bodega Bay and quite frankly was scared of the liability involved. That, coupled with some bad weather, made me rethink my line of work.

Construction of the Grand Romance, California's only true sternwheel riverboat, began in mid-October 1990. She debuted on July 3, 1993 - almost exactly 150 years since the first sternwheeler operated in California.

Out-fitted with cast Victorian ironwork from the Old South, towering twin smoke stacks and a 43-note calliope she is the grandest authentic riverboat to operate in California. Her interior features a two-story high Grand Ballroom with a red velvet stage, gleaming marble dance floor and polished brass and stamped tin ceilings.

Overlooking the 16-foot diameter paddlewheel is a turn-of-the-century mahogany bar. The upper deck has covered verandas to enjoy the view and a 100 seat murder mystery showroom where multiple murders take place every weekend.

An aqua-adventure with the Finch's June 2014
All iron and wood

An aqua-adventure with the Finch's June 2014
Looks pretty good

An aqua-adventure with the Finch's June 2014
Iron railing around the upper decks

An aqua-adventure with the Finch's June 2014
Blimey... Looks real

Here We Go To The Queen Mary

An aqua-adventure with the Finch's June 2014
We are ready!

An aqua-adventure with the Finch's June 2014
The B-427 rests alongside the Queen Mary

Did You Know? - B-427 was a Project 641 (Foxtrot-class) diesel-electric attack submarine of the Soviet Navy. The "B" (actually "?") in her designation stands for ??????? (bolshaya, "large"). Commissioned in 1971, the submarine operated with the Russian Pacific Fleet until decommissioning in 1994.

The boat was sold to a group of Australian businessmen, who converted her into a museum vessel, which was placed on display at the Australian National Maritime Museum (under the name Foxtrot-540) from 1995 until 1998, then at Long Beach, California (under the name Podvodnaya Lodka B-427 Scorpion) in 1998. The submarine is still on display as of 2014.


An aqua-adventure with the Finch's June 2014
They look like good friends

An aqua-adventure with the Finch's June 2014
Sitting quietly

Did You Know? - For twenty-two years B-427 patrolled the Pacific, protecting the ballistic missile submarine bastions of the Pacific Fleet while based out of Vladivostok, Russia with the exception of a few temporary postings as part of the Soviet Submarine Squadron that was for a time based at the former US Navy base at Cam Ranh Bay, Vietnam. Such postings were normally for a period of between 8 to 12 months before returning to Vladivostok.

In 1989, B-427 was returning to Vladivostok from Vietnam when it ran into a typhoon. A mechanical breakdown that could not be fixed in time prevented the sub from diving. The storm battered the boat, destroying the light hull and damaging the ballast tanks and high pressure air bottles. B-427 was taken back to Vladivostok where it was repaired and refitted with a new light hull.

An aqua-adventure with the Finch's June 2014
It was a beautiful day

Did You Know? - In May 1998, the submarine was loaded onto a heavy lift ship and relocated to Long Beach, California, sailing from Sydney on 31 May and arriving on 25 June.[citation needed] On arrival, she was berthed next to RMS Queen Mary, and opened to the public on 14 July under the designation "Podvodnaya Lodka B-427 Scorpion".

On 19 April 2011, the company operating Queen Mary (Delaware North) announced that they had acquired Scorpion, and were planning to increase attendance at both attractions through combined ticketing and joint marketing campaigns.

The Scorpion Submarine is currently owned by NEWCO Pty Ltd LLC and is on a long term lease to the Queen Mary

To The Belmont Pier And Lunch!

An aqua-adventure with the Finch's June 2014
Old Glory was waving away

An aqua-adventure with the Finch's June 2014
Good Bye Queen Mary

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Our next destination... Belmont Pier