Watch San Diego Bay's Sunset From a Gaff-Rigged Friendship Sloop
Captain Phil sails his restored Friendship sloop past downtown and the navy piers, and the sunset departure stays out into dusk.
Liberty is a Friendship sloop with a gaff-rigged mainsail, and every sail on this listing stops at six guests. Captain Phil runs two versions, an Afternoon Sail in the middle of the day and a Sunset Sail timed to the evening light. Both last two and a half hours and leave from Harbor Island.
The Sunset Sail's departure time moves through the year with the sunset, so plan around the time on your booking. Beer, white wine, soft drinks, water and packaged snacks come with the fare.
The booking title leads with "Top Rated". That is the listing's own wording, and the guest reviews behind it are more specific: blankets handed out after dark, room to climb up to the bow, and a captain who took one group toward the navy ships on request.
Top Rated San Diego Sunset Sail Classic Yacht 6 GuestsTwo and a half hours on San Diego Bay aboard Liberty, six guests at most, with beer, white wine, soft drinks and snacks included.www.viator.comA Maine Working-Boat Design Under Gaff Sail
The Friendship sloop is a gaff-rigged working boat that took shape around 1880 for fishing and lobstering on Muscongus Bay, on the Maine coast. It carries the name of Friendship, the town where Wilbur Morse's shop built so many of them. The gaff is the spar along the top of the four-sided mainsail, and on Liberty it is the first thing you notice.
The operator describes her as a replica in the style of a 1904 Friendship sloop that spent years on the Great Lakes before being trucked to San Diego and restored. The Friendship Sloop Society's register lists her owner as Philip Schutt, the operator's Captain Phil, and records 31 feet on deck. The operator gives 41 feet as her total length. Guests write that he still does the work on her with his wife and son. By the operator's account the engine runs only for getting in and out of the harbor or when the wind goes light.
If you want the wheel, ask early. Guests have steered, including a ten-year-old who took the helm for a stretch, but one guest wrote that only a single person aboard was offered a turn.
The Midway, North Island and the Coronado Bridge
Every stop on the listing is a pass-by from the water: the Maritime Museum of San Diego and its 1863 iron bark Star of India, the USS Midway, Naval Air Station North Island where several carriers are home-ported, the Coronado Bridge, Seaport Village, the North Embarcadero and the Rady Shell.
There is no recorded commentary. The history comes from Captain Phil when you ask, about the boat, the bay or his own years of sailing. Sea lions and dolphins come up again and again in reviews, and the operator is plain that sightings are common but not guaranteed.
No Shade by Day, a Chill After Sunset
Liberty has no bimini, the canvas cover that shades a cockpit, and the operator says the open deck is deliberate. On the Afternoon Sail that means two and a half hours in open sun, so bring a hat and sunscreen.
After sunset the bay cools quickly. One guest on an early August evening wrote that it got quite a bit cooler immediately after sunset, and several mention blankets on board. The operator's own packing list is a light jacket, non-slip shoes and sunglasses.
There is a marine head below deck. You may bring your own drinks and snacks, though red wine stays ashore because it stains the paint.
Who Fits Aboard, and Who Shares the Boat
Six is the boat's limit as well as the listing's. The operator says the cap is set under U.S. Coast Guard rules, and one booking can take all six seats. Book fewer and the open seats can go to other travelers, so a couple may share the cockpit with two more couples.
Children are welcome. Infants ride on an adult's lap, and the operator says it carries life jackets in every size.
The listing says infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller and calls the sail suitable for all physical fitness levels. The operator's own word on wheelchairs is narrower: boarding requires a step down into the boat, and it asks guests to get in touch before booking to talk through access.
Meet at Safe Harbor Sunroad Marina, 955 Harbor Island Drive, and head for Gate #1, which serves Docks A to D. The listing asks you to arrive fifteen minutes early and the operator's own site says twenty, so give yourself twenty. Marina parking is paid and not part of the booking, and the tip for the captain is extra.
A full refund needs cancellation at least 24 hours before departure. If a sail is called off for unsafe weather, you are offered another date or a refund.
On the Sunset Sail's run back in, the downtown towers light up across the water ahead of you.