Growing uo as a child in San Francisco, I was used to see all sorts of sailing craft in the SF Bay, but there was one craft which got my attention at a very early age; my grandfather would indulge my fascination with ships and trains by taking me to the Embarcadero waterfront, then still an active commercial freight/passenger terminal where I could see the ships arriving, departing, and being loaded and unloaded; I remember vividly the shuttle trains running between the piers to carry unloaded cargo away or to bring in cargo to load for export, and the bustle of the stevedores and longshoremen in and around the ships, the cacophony of shouts and calls in several different languages; but there was on craft that took my interest for many years and it was landlocked at the beach end of Golden Gate Park...
The ship Gjøa was on exhibit at the Park for decades and had a spotty history of pride and neglect, which I witnessed over the years; when my grandfather first took me there he told me the ship had been to the North Pole, which I found to be an awe-inspiring fact; it wasn't until later years that I learned the full and fascinating story of just how historic and important that little ship really was in modern history:
Gjøa --
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gj%C3%...nd_restoration
The Gjøa, through the Northwest Passage to Golden Gate Park --
https://www.outsidelands.org/gjoa1.php
The Gjøa is now well cared for and preserved back in its proper home country...
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