A must for anyone with an interest in nautical history, this collection of six restored and replica ships affords a fascinating glimpse of San Diego during its heyday as a commercial seaport. The museum's headquarters are the Berkeley, an 1898 ferryboat moored at the foot of Ash Street. The steam-driven ship, which served the Southern Pacific Railroad in San Francisco until 1958, played its most important role during the great earthquake of 1906, when it saved thousands of people from the fires that had engulfed San Francisco by carrying them across San Francisco Bay to Oakland. Its ornate carved-wood paneling, stained-glass windows, and plate-glass mirrors have been restored, and its main deck serves as a floating museum, with permanent exhibits on West Coast maritime history and complementary rotating exhibits. Anchored to the north of the Berkeley is the small Scottish steam yacht Medea, launched in 1904, which may be boarded but has no interpretive displays.

A large number of visitors are drawn to the museum's sailing ships. The newest is a replica of an 18th-century British Royal Navy frigate, HMS Surprise, used in the Academy Award -winning Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World. Before the museum purchased the Surprise in 2004, the best known ship in its collection was the Star of India, often considered a symbol of the city. An iron windjammer built in 1863, the Star of India made 21 trips around the world in the late 1800s, when it traveled the East Indian trade route, shuttled immigrants from England to New Zealand, and served the Alaskan salmon trade. Once sailing ships became obsolete, the Star was spared demolition by a group of San Diegans who bought it and retired it to San Diego in 1927. It has been a harbor landmark since then, although it had to wait until 1959 before volunteers could begin the laborious task of stripping its wooden decks, mending its sails, polishing its figurehead, and carrying out other restoration work. The oldest active iron sailing ship in the world, it makes rare short excursions but for the most part stays moored at the pier to receive visitors. If you crave more than a dockside experience, you can take to the water in the museum's other sailing ship, the Californian, a replica of a 19th-century revenue cutter that patrolled the shores of California. Designated the state's official tall ship, it can be boarded for a variety of half- and full-day sails (weather permitting) on weekends. (Typically, weekday cruises are reserved for schoolchildren.) Tickets may be purchased only at the museum on the day of sail. Full-day sails leave at 10 AM and half-day sails leave at 1 PM. They're most popular on sunny days, when it's recommended to show up at least one hour ahead of desired departure. Another ship in the museum's collection is the Pilot, which guided ships into and out of San Diego Bay for 82 years. Removed from service in 1996, it was refurbished and retrofitted for use as a floating classroom. Smaller boats, such as the Butcher Boy, which once carried fresh meat to ships moored in the bay, are being constantly added to the collection.