US Naval Vietnam-era PCF 816 Swift Boat Listed In National Register Of Historic Places Resumes 75-minute Naval History Tour Memorial Day Weekend
SAN DIEGO, CA – Maritime Museum of San Diego, serving as the community memory of our seafaring experience by collecting, preserving, and presenting our rich maritime heritage and historic connections with the Pacific world, is proud to announce that the PCF 816 (patrol craft fast), listed in the National Register of Historic Places and California Historical Resources will resume the popular 75-minute narrated Naval History Tour, Memorial Day weekend 2021. The Museum temporarily paused these popular tours due to limited marine operations as a result of COVID-19.
Visitors interested in Naval History can come aboard the PCF 816 Swift Boat for a 75-minute narrated San Diego Bay tour on the PCF 816 on weekends starting Saturday, May 29, 2021.
Two tours will be offered, 12:15 p.m. and 2:15 p.m. Tickets are only $15 per person with purchase of general admission to the Maritime Museum of San Diego. Tickets can be purchased online in advance by CLICKING HERE. or at the Museum Ticket Booth as a walk up reservation if space is available. On Memorial Day, Monday, May 31, the museum will also offer this exciting, educational experience.
According to Raymond Ashley, Ph.D., K.C.I., President/CEO of the Maritime Museum of San Diego, “PCF 816 is a tangible reminder of the service and dedication of so many Swift Boat sailors and allows visitors the opportunity to better understand what they sacrificed.” The Swift Boat Sailors Association brought the PCF 816 Swift Boat to the Maritime Museum of San Diego to be restored and operated on San Diego Bay. Prior to the pandemic, our Naval History Bay tours were one of the most popular on-the-water experiences we offered to our visitors. Unique to this experience is the retired Swift Boat Sailors and docents who talk about what it was like to be a crewman in Vietnam, serving as a Quartermaster, Gunner’s Mate, Engineman, Radarman, Bosun’s Mate or Skipper. Since reopening several times over the last year, we resumed our 45-minute narrated historic bay tours which spotlighted key attractions and landmarks around the Bay featuring the Museum’s restored 1914 Pilot boat and the PCF-816 Swift boat. Now we are ready, to resume this 75-minute weekend only dedicated naval history educational Bay tour only available on the PCF 816.”
The Navy first used the PCF 816 Swift boats on coastal patrol as a part of Operation Market Time to interdict seaborne supplies on their way to the Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese Army in South Vietnam. Later, the boats moved into the rivers and canals of the Mekong Delta and the Ca Mau peninsula to conduct special operations: gunfire support, troop insertion and evacuation, and raids into enemy territory. To the U.S. Navy, Swift Boats were weapons of war.
The notice of the National Register of Historic Places announcement was presented to Maritime Museum of San Diego by the Department of Parks and Recreation Office of Historic Preservation on July 27, 2018. The honor includes PCF 816 Swift Boat in the official list of cultural resources worthy of preservation.
The Maritime Museum of San Diego Museum ship collection includes four vessels of historic distinction on the National Register; PCF 816 Swift Boat, 1914 Pilot boat, the world’s oldest active sailing ship Star of India, and the 1898 steam ferry boat Berkeley – listed as National Historic Landmarks.
Located at Star of India Wharf, the Maritime Museum of San Diego is a collection of historic vessels moored together dockside along the north embarcadero between Grape and Ash Streets located at 1492 North Harbor Drive, San Diego, CA 92101-3309. For more information on safe visit protocol and procedures, what to expect on your visit or to make a donation or learn more about the restoration projects underway, guests and supporters may visit sdmaritime.org.
About the Maritime Museum of San Diego
The Maritime Museum of San Diego experience includes admission to a world-class collection of historic sailing ships, steam-powered boats, and submarines, each offering entertaining and educational exhibits. The 501c3 non-profit Museum enjoys an international reputation for excellence in restoring, maintaining, and operating historic vessels including the world’s oldest active sailing ship, Star of India. Maritime Museum of San Diego is ranked as one of the nation’s top attractions offering self-guided tours, docent guided-group tours, tall ship charters, year round public events, educational programs, and a distinctive venue for corporate/private events. The Museum is open daily along Star of India Wharf at 1492 North Harbor Drive, San Diego, CA 92101-3309.