BENICIA

BUILT: 1881, Martinez, CA.

OFFICIAL NUMBER: 3185 CALL SIGN: None L/B/D: 93 x 25 x 7

GROSS/NET TONS: 144/86 PASSENGERS/AUTOS: ?/? PROPULSHION: Steam powered, walking beam drive, side paddle wheels SPEED:?

NAME TRANSLATION: It is of Spanish origin, and the meaning of Benicia is “blessed one”.

HISTORY:

The ferry was a former cattle carrier between Martinez and Benicia, 1881-1888. After joining service on the Bay in 1888, Benicia was sold and dismantled in 1903.

CORONADO (I)

BUILT: Built in 1886 by A. C. Hayes At San Francisco

OFFICAL NUMBER: 126373 CALL SIGN: None L/B/D: 100 x 26 x 9

GROSS/NET TONS: 308/222 PASSENGERS/AUTOS: ?/8 

PROPULSION: Steam, side paddle wheels 75 hp SPEED:?

NAME TRANSLATION: Spanish for “crowned.”

HISTORY:

Retired in 1922, the Coronado was sold to a Hollywood movie company and was blown up and sunk.

CORONADO (II)

BUILT: 1929, Moor Drydock Co., Oakland, CA.

OFFICIAL NUMBER: 228338 CALL SIGN: WK3853 L/B/D: 176/44/14

GROSS/NET TONS: 502/340 PASSENGERS/AUTOS: ? /46 PROPULSION: diesel, 2 eight-cylinder engines SPEED: ?

NAME TRANSLATION: “Crowned” in Spanish.

HISTORY:

The second Coronado to work for the company, the ferry was built in 1929 by the Moore Dry Dock Company in Oakland, California.

She had been designed and built specifically for service with the San Diego-Coronado Ferry Company. Similar in design to the Steel Electric ferries that worked in San Francisco and on Puget Sound, the Coronado and her near sister San Diego would have one major noticeable difference–large open ports on the car deck that allowed the warm air to flow freely through the vessel.

Still at work in 1969 when the bridge finally put her out of work, the Coronado was sold in 1973 to a ferry company in Nicaragua. At some point the Coronado became wrecked on the beach and was abandoned. Her sad remains can still be seen on the beach at Cosiguina.

CROWN CITY

BUILT: 1954 Oakland, CA.

PREVIOUS/LATER NAMES: a. Crown City, b. Kulshan, c. Governor

OFFICIAL NUMBER: 267527 CALL SIGN: WF6787

L/B/D: 242 x12 x 65 GROSS/NET TONS: 678/352 PASSENGERS/AUTOS: 350/65 (1969)

NAME TRANSLATION: For the steamer of the same name; Native American name for Mount Baker; various meanings, including, “white sentinel” and “shot at the point”

FINAL DISPOSITION:  As of 2020, in service as the Governor at for the Martha’s Vineyard Steamship Authority.

HISTORY: See Kulshan (II).

DELLA

BUILT: 1885 Waltham, MA.

OFFICIAL NUMBER:157144 CALL SIGN: None

L/B/D: 21 x 6 x 2   GROSS/NET TONS: 2/2 PASSENGERS/AUTOS: 40/0 (on the barge behind it.)

PROPULSION: Steam SPEED:?

NAME TRANSLATION: Della as a girl’s name is of German origin meaning “noble”.

HISTORY: H.L. Story’s private yacht, which towed a barge behind it to carry workers to built the Hotel del Coronado. Retired prior to 1929. Eventually ended up sunk.

MORENA

BUILT:  1920, Wilmington, CA

OFFICIAL NUMBER: 220596 CALL SIGN:

L/B/D: 156 x 58 x 12 GROSS/NET TONS: 381/232 PASSENGERS/AUTOS: 500/50

PROPULSION: 500 horsepower, two cylinder steam engine SPEED: ?

NAME TRANSLATION: Portuguese for “brunette.”

HISTORY: The  Morena came into service in 1920. Her paddlewheels were driven by a 500 horsepower, two cylinder steam engine and was the last inland steam vessel to operate in San Diego Bay.

The story of inland steam navigation on San Diego Bay is definitely finished; in October the side-wheel ferry MORENA #220596, 150.0, Wilmington, Cal., 1920, was sold with the proviso that she will not be employed in ferry service again.  MORENA belonged to the San Diego and Coronado Ferry Co., and made her last crossing from San Diego to Coronado 1 July 1938; even by that time the Diesel boats had supplanted her.  She lay idle until the outbreak of the war, when she was turned over to the Navy and was taken to the Fleet Repair Base at the south end of San Diego.  Here gun mounts for 3” guns were installed on her forward and after decks, and she was used for training armed guard crews for merchant ships.  When the war ended, the Navy decided to turn her back to her former owners, we quickly disposed of her to the Case Construction Co.  It is understood that she will be used as a dormitory and recreation center for employees of the company, which still has extensive dredging operations to complete on the bay.  MORENA was built by Rolph & Chandler at Wilmington, Califor., in 1920, her registry being 381 gross and 232 net tons.  She was powered with a cross-compound engine 20” 40” x6’ equipped with poppet valves, and rated 500HP; Hunt, Mirk, & Co., San Francisco, built the engines.  There were three Scotch boilers, delivering steam at 200 lbs.  Her lower deck accommodated about 50 automobiles and she was licensed to carry 500 passengers.—Steamboat Bill, December 1945.

FINAL DISPOSITION: Listed as abandoned in 1946.

NORTH ISLAND

BUILT: 1923 by James Robertson at Alameda, CA

NAME/PREVIOUS NAME: a. Golden West, b. North Island

OFFICIAL NUMBER: 222833 CALL SIGN: WK3897

L/B/D: 214 x 44 x 15 GROSS/NET TONS:594/379 PASSENGERS/AUTOS: ?/48

PROPULSION: Diesel-electric, 2 Werkspore engines. Engines replaced in 1953 with two 400 HP  SPEED:

NAME TRANSLATION: North Island derived its name from the original geography. In the nineteenth century it was referred to as North Coronado Island, because it was separated from South Coronado (now the city of Coronado) by a shallow bay known as the Spanish Bight, which was later filled in 1945 during World War II.

HISTORY: Originally named the Golden West, the North Island was built in 1923 by James Robertson at Alameda, California as part of the Golden Gate Ferry Company’s Fleet. Later she joined the combined Southern-Pacific-Golden Gate Ferry Company but was surplused after the bridges were completed and sold in 1937 to the Puget Sound Navigation Company.

After purchasing the ferry, Captain Peabody evidently had second thoughts about the slightly smaller, older vessel in the Wood Electric family. He sold her on the spot to the San Diego-Coronado ferry company, who refurbished the vessel and renamed her the North Island.

It is interesting to note that the Golden West really wasn’t *that* much smaller than the other “Golden” ferries– a mere twelve feet. Perhaps there was more work that need to be done to this all-wood ferry than the others that made Peabody reconsider taking the vessel to Puget Sound.

FINAL DISPOSITION:

Retired in 1969 with the rest of the fleet, the North Island went on to become an abalone processor in Ensenada Harbor for years but was eventually abandoned and sank.

RAMONA

BUILT: 1903 by Risdon Iron Works Alameda, CA.

OFFICIAL NUMBER:111474 CALL SIGN: KSNL

L/B/D:118 x 29 x 12 GROSS/NET TONS: 417/263 PASSENGERS/AUTOS:

PROPULSION: Steam powered, side paddle wheels 2cylinder engine, 700 HP SPEED:

NAME TRANSLATION: Ramona is usually a feminine given name, the feminine form of Ramon (Spanish) and Raymond (Old German), meaning “protecting hands”.

HISTORY: The most successful of the early ferries, the Ramona became a familiar sight to travelers. After serving the route for over 25 years the vessel was replaced by newer vessels being built for the route.

“The fact that she was the first ferry to have incandescent lights instead of the traditional oil lamps marked her as ‘modern’ and created considerable discussion in the press.  She also boasted a 13 1/2 headway which enabled her to take care of hay wagons and her passenger cabins were enclosed to ‘protect the public from the sight and smell of horses.’  One wonders if fertilizer was a by-product of the Ferry Company in those early days.

–from Transit Topics, May/June 1954

FINAL DISPOSITION: “After 28 years of faithful service, the Ramona was retired in 1931.  Anchored off the Red Sails Inn, she was converted into a night club until one stormy night when she went down.  She was raised, her superstructure removed and for a time she still plied the waters of the bay as a scow.” –from Transit Topics, May/June 1954. Note: Officially listed as “abandoned” in the Merchant Vessels of the United States, 1934.

SAN DIEGO

BUILT: 1931, Moore Drydock Company, Oakland, CA

OFFICIAL NUMBER: 231278 CALL SIGN: WK3851

L/B/D: 191 x 44 x 14 GROSS/NET TONS: 556/378 PASSENGERS/AUTOS: 500/50 cars

PROPULSION: 3 engines, 350 HP each

NAME TRANSLATION: Named for the city; vessel was built for the San Diego-Coronado ferry run. It derives from a re-analysis of Sant Yago (Saint James the Greater) as San Diego.

FINAL DISPOSITION: Scrapped, 2011.

HISTORY : See San Diego page.

SILVER GATE

BUILT: 1888, Coronado Iron Works at Coronado, CA

OFFICIAL NUMBER:116193 CALL SIGN: None

L/B/D:187 x 30 x 11 GROSS/NET TONS:528/459 PASSENGERS/AUTOS: 600/0

PROPULSION: Steam powered, propeller drives (one of the first) SPEED:

NAME TRANSLATION: It was named for its position as the Silver Gate to the Pacific.

HISTORY: The Silver Gate was one of the least successful ferries to every operate on the San Diego run. An ornately decorated vessel, and one of the first propeller-driven ferries on the west coast, the ferry had issues coming to a stop and routinely rammed docks in the short time she was in service. After less than a year of operation, she was pulled as use as a ferry, and was utilized as a tour boat. She finally used as stationary ball room and theater. Later still, she was towed across the bay and used as the headquarters of the San Diego Yacht Club.

FINAL DISPOSITION: Scrapped in 1920.

SILVER STRAND

BUILT: 1927 by General Engineering & Drydock Co., Alameda, CA.

PREVIOUS/LATER NAMES: a. Golden Shore, b. Elwha, c. Silver Strand

OFFICIAL NUMBER: 226767 CALL SIGN: WK4146

L/B/D: 227 x 44 x 16 GROSS/NET TONS: 779/479 PASSENGERS/AUTOS: 500/55 cars

NAME TRANSLATION: Silver Strand, or simply The Strand, is a low, narrow, sandy isthmus or tombolo 7 miles (11 km) long in San Diego County, California partially within the Silver Strand State Beach. … The ocean side of the strand features 2.5 miles (4.0 km) of coastline trimmed with silver shells (thus named Silver Strand)

HISTORY: See Elwha (I)