“KNOT” JUST A MUSEUM TOUR

Story by Ron Mulick

What was in use 13,000 years ago and is now a “Hub” of a City? That’s right, the Santa Barbara Harbor.

We started our event by gathering in Santa Barbara with a group of 36 members and 21 Porsches. We then drove up the old San Marcos Pass Road, enjoying lots of twisty, short turns. The weather this Saturday, March 18, was clear so we could see Santa Barbara below and the Channel Islands in the distance. About half way up the mountain, we jumped onto CA-154 (the “new” San Marcos Pass Road) and headed back toward the Santa Barbara Harbor through Hope Ranch, one of the most prestigious residential neighborhoods in Southern California: a beautiful private golf course on the left and stately residential properties all around. Working our way down toward the shoreline on Cliff Drive, canopied with trees and flowers everywhere, we ended our drive at the popular Santa Barbara waterfront.

But wait, that is not what we came for. We wanted to hear about the 13,000 years of maritime history in the region. The Santa Barbara Maritime Museum invited us inside. The museum is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums and is ranked in the top 10 maritime museums in the U.S. They opened their doors in 1997 with three exhibits and now get over 40,000 visitors annually.

One of the exhibits they are especially proud of includes the old Point Conception lighthouse “Fresnel” lens, which is made up of 260 pieces of specialized glass. It was originally built in France in 1848 and was able to project light 25 miles out to sea. The lens was disassembled, transported, cleaned, and reassembled at the museum. It stands eighteen feet high and is the first thing you see when you walk in.

Yes, yes, yes, but what about the 13,000 years of maritime history? Greg Gorga, the executive director of the museum, gave us a presentation on what occurred in the Santa Barbara Channel over the centuries. He started with the scientific fact that bones from an Indian burial on Santa Rosa Island have been dated to 13,000 ago. The Chumash, the local tribe on the mainland, built canoes of plank construction, rather than as dug-outs as is found elsewhere.

As we worked our way through the timeline, he touched on Stearn’s Wharf, which is the harbor’s most visited landmark. It was originally built in 1872 to off-load lumber to build Santa Barbara. Prior to the pier’s construction, the ships would anchor offshore and dump the lumber into the ocean, where it would eventually drift to shore.

In 1923, the largest peacetime loss of Navy ships occurred off Honda Point, about 60 miles up the coast from the harbor. Referred to as the Honda Point Disaster, ships’ commanders made decisions based on old “dead reckoning” navigation and it resulted in multiple destroyers running aground on the rocks in the fog. Hundreds of sailors ended up in the water, but only 23 lost their lives.

And of course, the only enemy attack on American soil since the war of 1812 was the attack on Elwood Beach by the Japanese a few weeks after the Pearl Harbor attack. Twentysix shells were fired from a submarine aimed at oil storage tanks; all of the shells missed their target.

There were so many exhibits to look at, we all agreed that one could spend a full day and still not see everything. However, the lunch bell rang (they do that on ships), so we proceeded to the Anchor Rose restaurant, located on the second floor above the museum. An amazing view of the Santa Barbara Harbor with fishing boats and sail and power pleasure craft created quite a sight, complete with a backdrop of the City of Santa Barbara and the nearby mountains. We were treated to stellar food and service and enjoyed sharing stories with fellow members.

What else could a guy or girl want? A drive in a P-Car, learning how 13,000 years ago mankind was able to somehow navigate out to the Channel Islands, and then a nice lunch with friends. Oh, and we got to drive our P-Cars home as well.

Ron Mulick has been a member of PCA since 2020. He drives 1987 993 Cabriolet in Black.