They Go Uppity Up Up...
- Ash Collins
- Jun 9, 2020
- 7 min read
It has been a long time between posts as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic that is affecting the lives of people the world over. Despite the shelter-in-place restrictions that govern our lifestyle and movements, there is still some breadth of flexibility that allows residents to enjoy the outdoors to escape the mundane existence that is our house or apartment.
Over the past 3 months or more, I have endeavored to get out and explore the areas that are within the 30 mile range of my battery powered Segway scooter. With a top speed of 30km/h I have been able to explore areas of Marin County that I have not previously seen. I will follow this post with a photo essay compilation of images taken on those journeys.
One such outing was my second flight on the de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver seaplane operated by a local company, Seaplane Adventures. Note that the aircraft image below was not the plane I travelled in on Friday as this paparazzi twat forgot to take a current photo.
With some outdoor activity restrictions now relaxed, I jumped at the opportunity to take advantage of a discounted flight with the local Sausalito tourist company. With the 60 minute, Norcal Coastal Tour secured, I gathered my camera equipment and jumped into an Uber for the short drive South towards the city.
The Norcal Coastal flight is my preferred itinerary as it encompasses a vast area of Marin County and the city of San Francisco within the allotted 60 minutes. On our way from the office to the Beaver, I casually suggested to our pilot that he get us up to cruising altitude and slide the control stick across to me and I would take it from there...laughter ensued followed by a firm "no, that's ok, I've got it!" I'm not sure what drove his lack of confidence in my flying abilities...perhaps it was the old leather flying cap and Biggles goggles I wore for the flight???
Anyway, as the only singular passenger, I was seated next to our pilot with the four other passengers seated in the rear. We taxied out into the middle of the picturesque Richardson Bay, made a 180 degree turn, amped up the throttle and uppity up, up we went. It was unusually windy in the North Bay with gusts up to 40mi/hr causing the de Havilland to jump and bump around at take-off. Despite the turbulence, we climbed to 1500 feet with highway 101, the local yacht squadron and houseboat community to our right before making a sweeping left hand turn towards Mt. Tamalpais where we climbed to an altitude of ~3000 feet.
Having cleared Mt. Tam, our pilot set a course for Tomales Bay. This long, slender 15-mile stretch of coastline with its mixture of inlets, holiday homes / units hugging the coast, an abundance of oyster shacks and wildlife & hiking trails makes for one of NorCal's most desirable locations to visit. Many of you might recall my Point Reyes photo expedition in the area back in February where I captured many images from the locations we would see from the air today. As impressive as this region is on the ground, the view from 2000 feet is breathtaking. The contours of the serene coastline made me reflect upon the number of times I have driven the long and windy roads that provide access to the coastal havens dotted along the Point Reyes Peninsula.
Unfortunately the turbulent flying conditions were beginning to take their toll on the backseat passengers. I opened my window to allow fresh air in for the lady seated directly behind me and for the benefit the the two passengers seated behind her. It was, however, all to no avail. All four passengers requested that the pilot return to base a-sap to allow them to disembark before they barfed all over the de Havilland's and those of up front. With full throttle and a supporting tailwind, we were soon back on the choppy waters of Richardson Bay where the pale-faced PAX disembarked.
That left just myself and my trusty pilot to complete the remainder of our itinerary...and then some. As I was the only fare paying person left on board, we had a certain degree of flexibility to flyover additional points of photographic interest if time permitted. We took off again and circled around towards the coast heading toward the historic and active Point Bonita Lighthouse followed by the unmistakable Golden Gate Bridge.
Having flown laps around the iconic GGB, we made our way South along the coastline flying over Baker Beach, to Ocean Beach, the outer Richmond area and Golden Gate Park. Once again the incredible aerial perspective you have from 1,000 feet provides perspective on the landscape we have trodden so many times over the past 6 years making for a real eye-opening experience. Both the heavy clouds and 'Karl' the Fog were no match for the extremely gusty winds leaving me with an almost cloudless and uninterrupted view from the viewfinder.
With the Southern area of the city itinerary completed, we flew East towards the city of San Francisco. Once again the draw-dropping aerial panorama on display from 1,500 feet was simply amazing. Five years on from my first flight over the city, a number of new office buildings and apartment complexes have sprung up punctuating the skyline; none more so than the Salesforce Tower.
The Salesforce Tower, formerly known as the Transbay Tower, is a 1,070-foot skyscraper in the South of Market district of downtown San Francisco. Salesforce Tower is the centerpiece of the San Francisco and upon its completion in 2018, became the tallest skyscraper in the San Francisco skyline, surpassing the 853 feet (260 m) Transamerica Pyramid. It is also the second-tallest building west of the Mississippi River after the 1,100 feet (335 m) Wilshire Grand Center in Los Angeles. For the cost of an additional 50-60 feet, Marc Benioff clearly does not appreciate the local rivalry and bragging rights between the two California cities...
The next 10-15 minutes would be spent flying over and around the city of San Francisco with architectural points of interest such as City Hall, the Bay Bridge, the new Chase Center (home of the GS Warriors), Oracle Park (home of the SF Giants), the piers and wharves that sit along the inner Bay area of the city and last, and by no means least, Alcatraz Island. Flying over each of these iconic landmarks you cannot but think of the impact that the COVID-19 has had on each of these normally bustling and flourishing sites and the peeps that work within them. Not unlike the rest of the world for past 3 months, a pandemic has laid SF's great sporting stadia and arenas barren of excitement. COVID has robbed us of the sound of hysterical fans cheering for their team and deprived the would be competitors of that pre & post game breakdown of the team's performance over a few drinks. However, all that was temporarily forgotten as I hovered over these sporting and cultural cauldrons of Bay area that will, in the not too distant future, host our favourite teams as they battle opponents and business adversaries from far and wide.
With our circuit of the city now complete, it was time to head in a North Westerly direction to the Seaplane Adventures home base in Richardson Bay, Sausalito. On our flight path back we would pass over a newly added site, as a result of an enormous recent fire.
The Fisherman's Wharf area is an iconic tourist spot (trap) that receives 10-12 million visitors annually. On average, 24,383 people visit Fisherman's Wharf on a daily basis. Right behind the quintessentially recognizable Fisherman's Wheel, lies a multitude of seafood restaurants coupled with warehouse facilities for the local businesses and fisherman to store equipment. The huge fire tore through this warehouse, the size of a football field, destroying fishing gear used to deliver about two-thirds of the city’s fresh seafood. As if the pandemic were not enough of a destructive influence upon this community's livelihoods, yet another tragedy strikes without notice. Our collective thoughts and prayers go out to all those affected by this tragedy.
Finally, no blog featuring the tourist attractions of San Francisco is complete without a reference to to the beacon of the Bay, Alcatraz Island.
Located 1.25 miles (2.01 km) offshore from the streets of San Francisco, this one time lighthouse, military fortification, military prison, federal prison, temporary home for native American activists and more recently art exhibit location, welcomes well in excess of 1 million visitors per year. Having visited one of the US's most popular National Parks on 4 separate occasions, I highly recommend visitors to the city purchasing their tickets well in advance to explore the interactive museum piece this once inhospitable island has become.
Once past Alcatraz we flew alongside Angel Island and over some of Marin's and the US's most expensive real estate. "Belvedere (from Italian for "fair view") is an architectural structure sited to take advantage of a fine or scenic view." Belvedere, a small town / village next to sister city Tiburon takes on this definition in every possible way. As one of the US's most expensive and lucrative Zip Codes, it consists of two islands and a lagoon and is connected to the Tiburon Peninsula by two causeways. It is an incredibly beautiful location to visit on foot albeit the mansions that line the foreshore are not visible from the roads.
Well that's all folks...the (Eddie) eagle has landed. Thanks very much to the team from Seaplane Adventures for your good humor and hospitality. Once again if you are ever visiting San Francisco I would highly recommend taking a flight ( www.seaplane.com/air-tours)
I hope you enjoyed reading the blog and viewing the images as much as I did bringing them to you.
Cheers and safe travels to you all as and when safe to do so...
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