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Recent Shows » August 9-10, 2008

August 9-10, 2008

Port Of Oakland

They come from all over the world: giant containerships carrying every kind of cargo imaginable. They pass under the Golden Gate Bridge and through San Francisco Bay. Loading and unloading their cargo at a place that employs over 55,000 people, has an economic impact of about $7 billion dollars a year, and most of us never give it a second thought.

These are the giant cranes we’ve all seen standing guard over the Port of Oakland. We’ve seen the big containerships coming and going, but most of us have never had a chance to go inside the port and take a look around. For me it’s always been a fascinating mystery that I’m finally getting a chance to solve.

The Port of Oakland is a city within a city. It sits on 900 acres, and is the fourth largest port in the country. This is the business of the bay on a grand scale. It contributes to the quality of our daily lives and we kind of take it for granted. In addition to its maritime operations the port also owns and operates the Oakland International Airport and several waterfront sites including Jack London Square. It’s been an international gateway for a long time. The world comes and goes here every day and the action here never stops. And as some of the largest vessels on Earth roll into the bay, they need a little help getting into port.

Jan Tiura is a tug boat captain. In fact, she was the first female tugboat captain in the SF Bay. When asked what she does she simply states: “I park ships”. It sounds simple, but it’s an important link in the chain. Her work day can start before dawn and as the sun rises we motor out on the tugboat John Quigg to meet up with an incoming ship. Tiura, “We are fulfilling a vital job here. Ships come and go at all hours and the weather pretty much doesn’t stop them.” The Tokyo Express is arriving from Asia and it’s our job to help it into port. Tugs are used to muscle these big vessels around. Sometimes they pull from the front, but today we’re dragging from behind. The idea is you provide resistance.

Tugboats have always held a special in my heart. They’re small, highly maneuverable, and they really pack a punch. But the tugs today are quite a bit different from the ones I knew of as a child, or even the ones Jan first captained. “You know I had a compass, a radio and a bell. Now we have all these electronics” said Tiura. Despite all of the technological advances, this is still a dangerous job. “It’s all out there to get you if you’re not being careful. It’s a tough environment and if you don’t understand that you better get off it.”

This environment can be dangerous, but it can also be a source of inspiration.

Jan is not only a tugboat captain, but she’s a professional photographer as well. She’s witness to a beauty that most of us never get to see.

“I take people where they can’t go. I get to photograph it and share it with people” Jan says.

We’ve arrived at the dock, and now it’s time to help park the ship.

We’re at berth 55-56, this is the Hanjin Terminal.

We’re at one of the eight terminals that we have at the Port of Oakland.
Chris Peterson is the Chief Wharfinger and he helps manage this busy place. With all the cargo coming and going, this really is ground zero for the global economy.

The containerization has really shown me how fast you can get cargo into and out of a port.

Before containers revolutionized shipping in the 1960’s, cargo was shipped on pallets and unloaded one at a time.

A ship would be in port for as much as 7 days off loading their cargo. We’re doing the same thing with more cargo than they ever thought possible and we’re doing it in eight hours.

The port’s 37 cranes make all of this possible, and they’re among the largest in the world. But getting them here was no easy task.

Many of the cranes were built in Asia, shipped across the Pacific Ocean, and then with just inches to spare squeezed under the Golden Gate and Bay Bridges.

Port engineer Terry Smalley helped designed the cranes, and even escorted them in as they were delivered.

“One time I ducked away from one of the lights because it was pretty close. It was nerve racking as we got to it, then as we saw we were getting clear it was exhilarating.”

Safety and security are important issues at the port, so the site is mostly off limits. But the public can get a better view of this amazing place on one of the port’s free harbor tours or from nearby Middle Harbor Park where you can watch the action.

Day in and day out, massive ships come and go… loading and unloading their cargo onto trucks and trains… bound for stores across the country. They’re links in a global economic chain, and connected by the Port of Oakland.

For more information on the Port of Oakland or Jan Tiura’s photography, check out our website: bayareabackroads.com or call the Backroads hotline: (415) 447-6300.

When we come back, we’ll meet an inspiring group of artists protecting their muse, but coming up next, the best places to watch the sunset.

For More Info:

Jan Tiura
http://www.phototiura.com/bio.htm

Port Of Oakland
http://www.portofoakland.com
530 Water Street
Oakland, CA 94607
(510) 627-1100

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Sunset Viewing

Brad Day, Founder and Managing Editor of Weekend Sherpa, gave us great tips on some of the best places in the Bay Area to watch the sunset.

Weekend Sherpa
www.weekendsherpa.com
2443 Fillmore St. #336
San Francisco, CA 94115

Miller-Knox Regional Shoreline
http://www.ebparks.org/parks/miller_knox
900 Dornan Drive
Richmond, CA 94801
1-888-327-2757

Peninsula's Windy Hill Open Space Preserve
http://www.openspace.org/preserves/pr_windy_hill.asp
(650) 691-1200

Windy Hill Open Space Preserve is located in the Town of Portola Valley. The parking lot at the lower portion of the preserve is located on Portola Road. From Highway 280, exit Alpine Road in Portola Valley. Go south on Alpine Road about 2.9 miles to Portola Road (the first stop sign). Turn right on Portola Road and travel 0.8 miles to the parking lot on the left side of the road.

Tank Hill
http://www.sfnpc.org/tankhillhistory
1 Carmel Street
Tank Hill
(between Belvedere St & Clayton St)
San Francisco, CA 94117

Treasure/Yerba Buena Island
http://www.inetours.com/Pages/SFNbrhds/Treasure_Island.html

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Bay Wood Artists

Artist Tom Wood describes it as “a magical place, and it's special. It's a special mountain.” Painter Tom Soltesz agrees: “I know it's a little cliché to say paradise, but I just couldn't get a better place. It's basically a painter's paradise.”

Marin County’s Mt. Tamalpais is a painter’s paradise. It’s also a Mecca for all sorts of outdoor activities.

“I think you could spend a lifetime in Mt. Tam, and never cover all the areas that are here,” says Floyd Lemley, and he should know. He’s been a ranger at Mt. Tamalpais State Park for five years. “I live in the park, so I've got like a 6300 acre backyard to play in.”

Floyd says people come here to play and to ponder. “I think it's a place where you can kind of connect with something greater than yourself.”

Folks have been connecting with this mountain for a long time, and we’re richer for it today. Much of Mt. Tam has been protected from development for all time, thanks in large part to the hard work and dedication of volunteers over the years.

That tradition is carried on today by a wonderful group of artists called the BayWood Artists. They’re landscape painters who donate part of the proceeds of their work to environmental causes. “We try to work on projects that preserve the areas that inspire us to paint,” says Tom Soltesz, a founding member of the group. He often rides his horse Bijou to go paint in open spaces around Mt. Tam and he’s found no shortage of inspirational spots. “It's hard to put your finger on it, but there's a draw about Mt. Tam, something very natural and very earthy and very spiritual.”

The feeling Tom gets from Mt. Tam fits perfectly with the style of painting he and his colleagues use. “It's called ‘plein-air’. The Italian word would be impasto, or alla prima, and it basically means direct painting,” he explains. “You do the painting in one sitting on location, and the objective is to capture the light.”

Tom continues, “We get the late light on the hills, late light on the trees. We get the golden glow on the grasses.”

And Tom isn’t the only painter who thinks so. Eleven of the thirteen Baywood Artists have gathered to ply their craft and they couldn’t have picked a more perfect day. One of the biggest challenges of plein-air painting is time. Artists usually have only about two hours to capture the best light.

“It’s fascinating to watch the paintings develop and to see how differently each artist interprets the same subject”, quips Zee Zee Mott, who helped start the BayWood Artists in 1997.

Painter Pat Wallis explains: “No one's handwriting is the same. And no one's painting is the same.”

“It's kind of fun to paint the other artists when they're painting”, jokes painter Chris Newhard.

Most of the time, these artists work alone. But they definitely enjoy their occasional group sessions. “We all learn from each other, and it's just wonderful. And we all have our own style, our own technique, but that doesn't mean we can't get some inspiration now and then from other people.” beams Ms. Mott. “They're just all passionate about painting and passionate about conservation and the environment.”

The BayWood Artists transform their passion into action, with annual exhibitions of their work. Each year’s show benefits a different Bay Area environmental organization. This particular exhibition is helping the Tamalpais Conservation Club.

Ben Farnham remarks: “Before we got started on this project, I didn't really know much about them at all. But they've been in business since 1912. And they've raised money and contributed a great deal of land to the park system.”

So far, the BayWood Artists have raised more than a hundred thousand dollars for various organizations. And they’ve raised people’s awareness and appreciation of the natural beauty that surrounds them. Tom Wood describes it this way: “They suddenly see what we're doing, and they see nature in a different way, because they see all of these paintings which are all focused on one thing -- essentially one thing or one area -- and I think it opens people's eyes to what art can do and it opens them to what nature is all about.”

According to Zee Zee Mott, the BayWood Artists hope their efforts result in “more land preserved forever. That some of these environmentally sensitive projects come to fruition. That would be a wonderful dream. You know, if we could even do a little bit toward that, that would be great.”.

For more information about the BayWood Artists, check out their website: http://baywoodartists.com.

For more about Mt. Tam, log on to: http://www.parks.ca.gov/default.asp?page_id=471 or call (415) 388-2070.

And for more on the Tamalpais Conservation Club, go to: http://www.tamalpais.org or (415) 389-9914.

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