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POPSBay Area getaways with delightful surprises More: East Bay Lake Chabot Regional Park, Castro Valley…excellent bike trails, hiking, campgrounds for both tents and RVs…the surprise that will realign your brain gears is the giant bass. I've fished here in my canoe and had a kick catching small trout, bluegill, catfish and bass, depending on the time of the year, then looked down into the water and seen 10-pound bass swim right under us. Every once in awhile, someone catches one; the lake record is 17 pounds, 10 ounces, and biggest this year is a 12-pounder… Berkeley Marina… try walking to the end of the 3,000-foot Berkeley Pier. It provides a unique perspective on San Francisco Bay Black Diamond Regional Preserve, Antioch foothills… take the underground tour of a section of the old mines, where countless tons of coal and sand was excavated. The surprise comes on a 6-mile round trip to Jim's Place, where you can find a historic rock/cave dwelling and nearby 100-foot air shaft.
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POPSTugboats Harbour tugs are the most typical of the tugboats that people recognise. They’re used worldwide to move ships in and out of berth and to move industrial barges around waterfront complexes. Their job has remained the same but their design and engineering has changed much over the decades. Harbour tugs originally evolved from paddle wheelers into the conventional tug known by all, and evolved further into Ship Docking Modules and tractors. River tugs (also known as towboats or push boats) are designed as large squared-off vessels with flat bows for connecting with the rectangular stern of barges. They are large and powerful, most commonly seen on the big rivers of the world and are capable of pushing huge fleets of barges that are can be lashed together into "tows". Some tows can be up to 1,000ft long and 200ft wide. In inland waters, smaller push boats may be seen managing only a few barges. Despite their size, they are designed to push their tow rather than tow from the stern.