Thousands of people wait hours to tour iconic Mexican Navy ship ARM Cuauhtémoc in SF
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Thousands of visitors waited for hours on Saturday for a chance to tour the ARM Cuauhtémoc, a 300-foot Mexican Navy tall ship, that was docked in San Francisco.
What began as an hourlong wait for some visitors stretched to two, three and even more than four hours into the night as crowds lined up along the waterfront. It was docked in San Francisco for four days.
"I think this is really worth the wait. Plus, I'm a kindergarten teacher. I have a lot of patience," said Annie Rodriguez of Treasure Island.
Chethana Srinivas of the South Bay said she and her group arrived later, hoping for a shorter line.
"We came a little late thinking. Well, we'll have a better chance. And that's not the case. That's not the case," Srinivas said.
Interest in the vessel drew visitors from across the Bay Area. Wendy Marquez of the East Bay said the ship's rarity made the long wait worthwhile.
"We hardly have stuff like this coming. So I feel like this is why, like all the community, it's full, you know," Marquez said.
On Friday, the ship set a record for a single day of visitors, attracting 17,500 people.
"I didn't expect for it to be this long until I seen the line. But I still was like, you know what? I'm. I'm gonna go ahead and take the journey," said Santos Maldonado of Castro Valley.
Visitors came for a variety of reasons. Some said they wanted to celebrate their heritage, while others were drawn by the ship's history.
"It's like a traditional Navy ship. And I got a feeling like that. It's it belongs to the era of the Aztecs and the Mayans," Srinivas said.
Although the vessel appears historic, it was built in Spain in the 1980s and later commissioned by the Mexican military.
The visit marks the ship's first return to the United States since it crashed into the Brooklyn Bridge in 2025, killing two people on board. A bend in the mast from the collision remains visible.
Luis Garcia of the East Bay said a San Francisco stop on the Pacific North 2026 voyage was especially meaningful.
"When they announced this one, Pacific North 2026 and he said, San Francisco was like, it's a dream come true," Garcia said.
Because of the ship's popularity, officials extended Saturday's visiting hours from the original 8 p.m. cutoff to 10 p.m. Visitors cheered "Viva Mexico" along the Embarcadero as crowds continued to arrive.
"But the moment the people respond, that would be in Mexico, the flag just suddenly from wave, like all of a sudden, like I was like, okay, my blood just went chills," one visitor said.
The Cuauhtémoc departed Sunday morning at 9:30.
