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The side-wheel Ramona served as a commuter ferry between San Diego and Coronado 1903 to 1929. Image courtesy San Diego History Center via San Diego Home/Garden Lifestyles |
GUEST BLOG—By Molly Brown—On the morning of July 21, 1905, all those aboard the
118-foot long ferry Ramona heard the
boiler room explosion that racked the USS Bennington, which was berthed in San
Diego Harbor. Immediately, the captain of the Ramona steered toward the sinking warship to rescue as many sailors
as possible before returning to its usual ferry route between San Diego and
Coronado.
The rest of the Ramona’s career was not as dramatic. Built in Alameda, CA in 1903 by John Dickie
and son David Dickie, who brought the ferry with them when they moved to San
Diego to re-establish their shipyard, the Ramona
replaced the smaller ferry Benicia.
As a steam powered side-wheeler, the Ramona was the first
ferry in John D. Spreckels’ owned San Diego and Coronado Ferry Company fleet to
boast incandescent lights to go along with its 700 horse power engine.
The Ramona served as a ferry until replaced in 1929 by
larger ferries. A highlight of her
retirement years was to serve as a floating dine and dance night club anchored
off of Shelter Island. It was in that
capacity that the Ramona went under during a dark and stormy night in January,
1937.
Today, the only remains of the Ramona is her name plate
that can be seen aboard the ferry Berkeley, which is now berthed along the
Embaradero and part of San Diego’s Maritime Museum.
The USS Bennington was eventually towed for repairs to
Mare Island in the Bay Area. But the
ship was too far gone and sold for scrap to a Hawaii firm. But even that fate didn’t befall the gunboat
as it was eventually sunk near Hawaii, where it now rests.
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Ramona sank in San Diego Bay January, 1937 during a bad storm |
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