Mt Diablo Pearl Harbor Day observance, 12/7/14

[Cincinnatus]

At 3:45 PM on Sunday, 7 December, the Mt Diablo observatory will turn on & start rotating the signal lamp.

I'll be going, will you?? :teeth :flag

Word from the Save Mt Diablo folks is that the Park Service will close the gate (presumably for entry) at around 5:15, so if you get in before then, you should be good. Entry fee is :barf $10, visitor's center closes at 4 PM.

http://www.savemountdiablo.org/activities_events_beacon.html

http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Mt-Diablo-beacon-restored-for-Pearl-Harbor-4917919.php

http://halfwaytoconcord.com/mt-diablo-beacon-restroed/

 

[GSXR.FLIP]

great view, nice ride kinda dangerous cliffs though stay safe

 

[Cincinnatus]

great view, nice ride kinda dangerous cliffs though stay safe

Thanks for the advice. :rolleyes :laughing

 

[Smash Allen]

I'm planning on going :thumbup

 

[FLH03RIDER]

Remember Pearl Harbor !!! :flag

My Father was at Pearl Harbor, Dec. 7, 1941, aboard the Light Cruiser - USS St. Louis, CL-49.
Pic 1 - St. Louis driving to sea, 09:10AM, the Battleship USS California sinking and burning off Starboard. The St. Louis was at anchor across from Battleship Row and the first large ship to make it out of Pearl Harbor in just a little over an hour after the start of the attack. Pretty remarkable considering her boilers were "cold".

Pic 2 - Torpedo repair at Mare Island.

Pic 3 - Kamikaze attack

The ST. LOUIS earned eleven Battle Stars during the war, took a direct bomb hit, was torpedoed, and hit by a Kamikaze plane but was never sunk. Earned the name "The Lucky Lou".

I'll try and make it if I get home from the airport in time to get the bike and ride up there.

 

[Cincinnatus]

Thanks for sharing the pics and the history. :thumbup :flag

Is your dad still with us?

 

[dmaxAl]

Im here now. Viz down to 30' at places. Summit is raining

 

[Cincinnatus]

I got there & met FLH03 (Bruce) & SmashAllen (Chris) at the observatory, no other motorcycles.

 

[Smash Allen]

Very nice to meet both of you gentlemen!

Sorry I didn't stay longer, I could make excuses but I was cold haha :thumbup

 

[Smash Allen]

Here is a picture of the bikes

 

[dmaxAl]

Was it either of you you three I gave a half when I was riding down? me neon lid on blue fjr. Of, and Mrs dmaxAl on teh back.

It was nice up there after the mist broke. I'm working on some long exposure pics now, ill post em here later.

 

[Smash Allen]

Was it either of you you three I gave a half when I was riding down? me neon lid on blue fjr. Of, and Mrs dmaxAl on teh back.

It was nice up there after the mist broke. I'm working on some long exposure pics now, ill post em here later.

Might have been me. I was wearing black leathers, black kid, and tinted visor on the yellow fz09.. I waved because I didn't notice your salute. Probably because I was focused on all the pine needles :teeth

Made for a fun trip down after the sun set.

 

[FLH03RIDER]

Just rolled in...

Hey dmaxAl, yep, passed you on my way up.
Good meeting ya Chris and Peter. It wasn't too much longer after you left that Peter headed out and I left a few minutes later as there seemed to be a bit of a technical delay in getting the 'ol bulb lit up. :laughing
Plus it was getting dark, the temps were dropping (46 deg) and the wind was picking up even more. That fricken road down is DARK at night. I rode down about a mile or so and pulled over and the Beacon was on. :thumbup

I'll post up some pics after I get them off the camera.

 

[Sidewalk]

Pretty remarkable considering her boilers were "cold".

"Pretty remarkable" is an understatement. As a former engineer, with a few days spent in the hole, that is nuts.

 

[Cincinnatus]

"Pretty remarkable" is an understatement. As a former engineer, with a few days spent in the hole, that is nuts.

Not being Navy or having any experience with boilers, my understanding is that you can still build up enough power, even when cold, to make way. Needs must when the devil drives, etc. :thumbup

 

[Sidewalk]

Not being Navy or having any experience with boilers, my understanding is that you can still build up enough power, even when cold, to make way. Needs must when the devil drives, etc. :thumbup

With a diesel engine, you can just fire them up, clutch in, and go. On my last ship, in an emergency, we could probably get the engine room ready to go in about 20 minutes in an "oh shit" manner with minimal people. But it would be "Oh shit!!!".* But a boiler is a different story, you can't just turn it on and go, you have to build up pressure. Without enough pressure, the steam won't be able to turn the turbine and you don't go anywhere. And it is a vicious cycle in that if you try to go too early, all that heat gets lost and you are held back even longer. It would take about an hour at least to get the ships service boilers (non propulsion) up to temp enough to use on my last ship, if we completely ignored guidelines. In reality, it was more like a 6 hour process. Firing up too fast causes a ton or problems. When being bombed, you don't care about maintenance concerns that will have to be followed up in the next month or two though


*In reality, on my last ship, we would have used gas turbines instead of diesels. Faster to get fired up, and WAY faster to get the hell out of there. We did have a tsunami warning when I was in Russia. Not the same kind of oh shit, but we had to take what few bodies we had on board and get the ship ready to go in a hurry. We did it by the book, and that was about an hour. Normally a 3 hour process.

 

[dmaxAl]

Darn shame the timing didn't work. We just move into the neighborhood here recently and hadn't done much exploring around. Between the weather and the dark I didn't want to be riding back down with the better half on the back in the dark. Besides, hot coffee beckoned.

Pete - It was you that got the half , I thought it was you for some reason but thought damn that jacket is waaay to new/bright.

Anyway Gents, for your viewing pleasure here's a couple I posted over in teh sink.

<edit> flh03rider, you wouldn't happen to have any more pics like that you could post? I love that stuff.
The torpedo blast damage is incredible, you can basically see how the dhip deformed around it. wow.

http://www.bayarearidersforum.com/forums/showpost.php?p=8813687&postcount=517

 

[Cincinnatus]

Al, yes you did pass me as I was heading up. Good idea taking care of SWMBO, a happy wife means a happy life. :laughing :thumbup

 

[FLH03RIDER]

Here's a few more of the St Louis...
1) Commissioning 1939
2 - 4) Torpedo damage
5) Kamikaze attack
6) Fire crew where Kamikaze hit aft / stern of ship
7) At Mare Island

 

[Cincinnatus]

Nice pics! It's amazing that the bow took such a hit and the ship could still make it to port for repairs. Did it make it on its own, or was it transported?