Temporary Neighbors in the Marina

Normally the Petaluma Marina is a pretty quiet place:


So it's usually pretty interesting when I go down to my boat and find something new.  The other day, I arrived at my dock to find these lovely ladies:

On the left is the scow schooner Alma, a nineteenth-century workboat typical of those that would haul cargo up and down the Petaluma river over a hundred years ago.  She is now owned and operated by the National Parks Service and is homeported in San Francisco.

On the far side of the dock is a traditional Chinese junk.  Next to the Alma it looks like not much.  But once the first batch of elementary school kids had laid aboard Alma and she got underway, the second batch went aboard the junk and started hoisting sail:



Both vessels spent a couple of days at the marina, offering tours and educational trips for local schoolkids.  Then they went up the river to the turning basin for the weekend where they were open to the public to come and look around.

Neat!