Star of India, built in 1863, is the oldest merchant ship afloat. Photos by Richard Bauman/Cerca Contributor '"First class" was a relative term to 19th century travelers, who made extended voyages in tiny rooms such as these aboard the Star of India. When diplomacy failed, a muzzle-loading cannon such as this from the HMS Surprise could persuade.

San Diego might not have the largest historic flotilla in the United States, but it takes two maritime museums to display all eight special ships and boats. The Maritime Museum San Diego has seven of them. The San Diego Aircraft Museum has only one, but what a ship. It's the aircraft carrier USS Midway.

The Midway is huge. It's nearly a thousand feet long (longer than three football fields, end to end), weighs 69,000 tons and its flight deck covers more than four acres. Commissioned in 1945, it was the first ship too big to pass through the Panama Canal.

On each voyage, the Midway was home to more than 4,000 sailors. Various aircraft filled its hanger decks and repair areas. There were tens of thousands of pounds of ordinance and fuel for both ship and aircraft. It had numerous repair and machine shops, galleys, dining areas, laundry facilities, engine rooms. Enormous as it is, when you explore parts of its hanger deck and second deck, it doesn't feel all that spacious. There are bunks in its passageways, and the crew's mess area has a low ceiling and confining feeling. Bombs and rockets were often moved from magazine to the hanger deck via the mess area.

After visiting the main engine room, most visitors come away with an appreciation of how precisely fuel, boilers and turbines had to be controlled to move the huge ship through the world's oceans. Visitors can also see why the ship used about 100,000 gallons of fuel oil each day.

The Midway's first voyage was in November 1945. Built too late to see action in World War II, she did serve in Korea, Vietnam and Desert Storm. From the time she was launched until her decommissioning in 1997, the Midway went through several renovations. There's little similarity between the ship that was launched in 1945 and the one on display today. The configuration of her flight deck, the type of aircraft she carried and the way those planes were launched and recovered, all changed over time.

Examples of aircraft that flew from her decks in different eras are on display. For example, there's a Korean War Panther jet fighter, along with aircraft used in Vietnam and later. On the hanger deck there is a World War II prop-driven SNJ trainer.

It takes at least two hours to see the entire Midway. A free audio tour provides a guided narrative of the three decks open to the public. Mingled within the audio tour are tales of historic events and some personal recollections and anecdotes from enlisted crew and officers who served on the Midway. The audio tour enhances a visitor's appreciation of the ship and her history.

It's an easy walk north from the Midway to the San Diego Maritime Museum. For more than 50 years, the Star of India has been the museum's central attraction. In fact, for much of that time it was the museum's only ship. There are now six additional vessels, but she's still the main attraction.

Built in 1863 on the Isle of Man and made from iron rather than wood, she is the oldest merchant vessel still afloat, anywhere. The Star is a tall ship. With a main mast 124 feet tall, and two slightly shorter, the vessel under full sail carries more than 19,000 square feet of canvas billowing in the wind. All of this is balanced on a ship 212 feet long, with a beam of 35 feet.

During her working years, the Star made 21 voyages around the world. She survived numerous disasters, including a collision with another ship and mutiny on her maiden voyage. Other disasters included running aground, a fire, being trapped in an ice floe for two weeks and nearly sinking in a hurricane. The storm is described in the ship's log: "Winds of gale force, seas mountain high. Ship labouring (sic) and straining in a most distressing manner. Shipping great quantities of water."

Aboard the Star, you come face-to-face with the realities of ocean travel in the 19th century. There are just a few "first class" passengers' cabins, tiny compartments about six feet by five feet. Beds are short and narrow, with insufficient room to stretch out. One tiny porthole per cabin admitted a bit of daylight and fresh air.

Take the steep staircase to the "tween deck," the space between the upper deck and the hold, and you can get a sense of sea travel for those not traveling in first class. Though the space was intended for cargo, there were many voyages from England to Australia and New Zealand, when this space was filled with people emigrating to those island countries. Today on the "tween deck" there are various displays, such as a collection of miniature ships in bottles.

The Alaskan Packers Association bought her in 1902, and for 21 years she sailed between San Francisco and Bristol Bay in northwestern Alaska, hauling professional fishermen there and then hauling them and their catch home.

The Star of India was destined for the scrap yard when the citizens of San Diego rescued her. She was tied up dockside in 1927, and nearly wasted away there. The Great Depression of the 1930s, and then World War II stifled restoration efforts. She went on display in 1948, but it wasn't until 1957 that restoration began in earnest. The ship's hardwood rails, its steering wheel -- large and sturdy -- the cabin houses, and even the deck were refinished or replaced to replicate their original condition.

While the Star of India doesn't look precisely as it did in 1864, she's no longer just a dockside tourist attraction. She is seaworthy and has been under full sail more than 21 times since returning to the sea in 1975, after decades of idleness.

The newest ship in the flotilla is the B-39, a Soviet Submarine. Open to the public since 2005, it's one of the last diesel-electric submarines to be built. Unsophisticated by today's standards, its has been described as "low-tech but lethal." Much of its active duty (1974-1994) was spent shadowing U.S. and NATO warships throughout the world's oceans.

You enter the B-39 from its deck via narrow stairs, directly into the forward torpedo room and its maze of pipes, valves, gauges and torpedoes. Nearly everything is painted white, red or beige. Russian language signs and instructions are evident throughout the ship. Wear is also evident. For example, painted rails and hatchways are rubbed to bare metal. The generally poor level of workmanship throughout the sub -- from low-quality valve handles to the rough interior surface of the hull -- surprise visitors familiar with U.S. sub construction and maintenance.

"Cramped" and "primitive" describe crew accommodations. The passageways are narrow, barely wide enough for one person. The officers' cabins, including the captain's, are tiny -- perhaps five feet by seven feet. So totally utilitarian is most of the sub, it's easy to miss one of its few refinements -- polished wood paneling in all officers' cabins, and in the officers and enlisted men's dining areas. The paneling gave a little bit of warmth and comfort to the crew.

Before boarding the sub, you'll have to slip through an example of the sub's tubelike hatchways. The sub has four such hatchways, each about 32 inches in diameter. None are easier to get through than the one at the sub's entrance. If you can't get through it, you shouldn't board the sub because you won't get through those on the ship.

Berthed adjacent to the Star of India and B-39 is a "movie star," the HMS Surprise. She was in the feature film, "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World." A replica of an 18th century British frigate, Surprise is smaller than the Star, just 179 feet long. Many props used in the movie are displayed on its lower gun deck.

A few steps away is the Berkley, an 1898 steam ferryboat, which at first glance seems out of place with the likes of a battle-rigged submarine, the celebrated Star of India, and even the movie star Surprise. The Berkley's 60-year career involved little more than shuttling passengers across the waters of San Francisco Bay. But she has elegance not found in the museum's other vessels. Some say she's the best remaining example of a 19th century ferryboat.

The Berkley's upper deck feels and looks almost like a church. It can hold 800 people; there are rows and rows of polished benches, resembling church pews. At ceiling level around the perimeter of the upper deck are stained glass windows. Light coming through those windows reflects off polished wooden floors, adding to the feeling of sanctuary. Maybe that's why the upper deck has been the site of thousands of weddings since the boat's restoration in 1973.

On the main deck, are numerous maritime exhibits and there's a stairway to the engine room. The Berkley's engine works, but only in demonstration and by means of hydraulics rather than steam.

Not to be overlooked are the museum's smaller vessels: Medea, Pilot and Californian. Each has been restored to pristine condition and each has its own unique history. These three boats aren't always available to visitors, however, since they are frequently used for educational purposes and VIP excursions. When the Aircraft Carrier Museum opened in 2004, some people were concerned that the town wasn't big enough for two maritime museums. Many thought admissions at the Maritime Museum would shrink. Just the opposite happened -- attendance is up. Apparently, folks drawn to the Midway are also drawn to the Maritime Museum's eclectic collection of boats and ships.

If possible, visit both museums when you're in San Diego. Be warned, however, that it's easy to spend an entire day exploring all the ships, boats and exhibits at both museums. If you don't have the time to visit them both choose one, and make plans to visit the other at a later date. Whichever museum you choose to visit first, you can't go wrong.