Engineering Feat for Giant Cranes to Pass Under Golden Gate and Bay Bridges

Transporting three $10 million, 1,500 ton cranes from Asia to Oakland to pass under the Golden Gate and Bay Bridges has been a major engineering feat involving months of planning.

The cranes arrived in San Francisco Bay this morning aboard a special barge - see previous blog.

'It's a lot of work. It takes a whole team to be able to move these cranes from Asia,' said Robert Bernado, Manager of Media and Public Relations for the Port of Oakland.

With an emphasis on safety, 'God forbid it actually touches the bridges - what would happen to the morning commute....!'

With expert engineering, however, the cranes passed under the Golden Gate Bridge with a clearance of 14 ft and under the Bay Bridge with a gap of 9 ft.

The difference reflects the variables that the engineers have had to factor in, and tides are one of them. The barge sailed on a low tide, but the bridges themselves are another variable as they contract or expand by a few feet depending on weather conditions, explained Robert Bernado.

One of the Port of Oakland's engineers spent the weekend at Point Reyes, Marin County, working with engineers from the shipping company, Evergreen Marine Corporation. 'They were clearly monitoring tide tables,' he said.

The cranes fold down at the apex and the barge itself can lower or raise its height by taking in or off-loading water in a technique called de-ballasting.

This cargo is called Super-Post Panamax cranes, one of the newest generation of cranes, but already their predecessors, the Post Panamax cranes, could load and unload containers from a ship too wide for the Panama Canal. These 'Supers' have a 120 ton load capacity and can lift up to four 20 ft or two 40 ft long containers, confirmed Robert Bernado.

As the Zhen Hua 15 sailed under the Bay Bridge, it turned at right angles to head for the port. Watching the giant cranes unload is fascinating, said Robert. The barge lightens its weight to rise to the level of the dock and the cranes, each on four wheels, roll off.

'Without naming names, there have been ports where the cranes have rolled onto the terminal and right into the water!' he said.

The three cranes now bring the total of Super-Post Panamax cranes at the port to 22. The port is the third busiest in California and the fifth busiest in the US handling, with fluctuations, around two million 20 ft containers per year.

pics by Chris

Giant Cranes Enter San Francisco Bay Under Golden Gate and Bay Bridges

As the clock on the Ferry Building in San Francisco struck 9 am today, the red bow of a barge transporting three giant folded 253 ft cranes slowly glided into view heading towards the Bay Bridge.

A small crowd had gathered on the end of Pier 30/32 to watch the auspicious arrival of the three mega container cranes that had travelled from Shanghai, China, on a barge specially designed to be able to lower itself in water to pass under structures.

Like the Golden Gate Bridge under which it passed at 8.30 am.

'To me, it's amazing!' said Arthur, there with his wife, Beamer. 'I was just thinking about how they were able to build that crane and put it on a ship and have it come halfway around the world.

'For me to witness this is amazing. I can say I saw it come under the Bay Bridge!'

Arthur is no stranger to shipping events. A former Vietnam vet, he worked on rescue helicopters that flew around naval aircraft carriers as pilots were taking off and landing, ready to rescue any who unfortunately landed in the sea.

 'I'm looking at a lot of jobs for people,' he said, gazing in admiration as the Zhen Hua 15 slipped past making the passage under the Bay Bridge look effortless, but at the same time eliciting a breathless 'This is going to be close!' from one of the onlookers.

Around the barge was a flotilla of tugs and the US Coast Guard and in the air hovered three helicopters. Traffic on the bridge was halted.

The cranes, said Arthur, will make the loading and unloading of cargoes in the major Port of Oakland that much easier and quicker. Cargoes that include travel between the San Francisco Bay and the Far East, Australia, Canada, Alaska and other parts of California.

'I wouldn't mind being one of the operators on those cranes!' he added 'You're talking BIG money.'

How big?

'I would estimate at least $75 dollars an hour, and that's not counting overtime!'

For how the feat of transporting the cranes was accomplished, and facts and figures see next blog.

pics of cranes by Chris

http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrisflowersmd/sets/72157623508891299/

First Storm of Fall 2009 HIts San Francisco

The first of the Fall storms has hit San Francisco and the Bay Area and has been longer-lasting than forecast, affecting travellers and causing damage around the city.

Winds have been gusting up to 70 mph over the Golden Gate Bridge, ferry boats and cruise ships that sail around the Bay have been cancelled, Fleet Week ship visits to the USS Green Bay - it could be renamed the Gray Bay - were cancelled. There have been power outtages, flooding around the roads and trees down.

As a result of the storm, the USS Green Bay may open tomorrow to visitors instead.

The Development Manager for the Blue and Gold Fleet at Pier 39, that carries both visitors and commuters around the bay, said that about 30 - 35 per cent of trips had been cancelled.

'First and foremost, we are keeping the safety of our customers in mind,' said Mr Dennis Swayne. The most important weather problem today had been the gusting winds, he said.

Ferry companies in the bay, including Bay Link and the Alameda Oakland Ferry, with which the Blue and Gold Fleet is associated, and the Golden Gate Ferry, had been taking direction from the Coast Guards.

'It's been just a little too rocky and a little too rough. It is not a fun day,' he said. 'Even on a big, big, big boat that weighs a lot of tons, you would feel it out there today.'

At the time of speaking to Mr Swayne, at 4 pm, he was waiting on the weather to know if the crucial 6.30 pm commuter ferry would be able to sail. But from what he had heard, he said, many commuters had left the city early and travelled back by other means.

A spokesman for the Golden Gate Bridge said that winds had gusted up to 70 mph, but that the bridge had remained open. Drivers had driven carefully and slowly, and there had not been any serious problems.

The spokesman said that the wind had blown in shorts gusts rather than at a steady speed and that gusts like that were 'not unheard of at this time of year.'

Closure of the bridge depends not solely on the power of the wind but its direction, he said. A north-south wind that hits it broadside is much more of a problem than an east-west flow, like today, that runs alongside it.

The road along the Embarcadero had also flooded.

The US Navy's newest amphibious landing craft, an aircraft carrier that supports the Marines on operations, closed completely to visitors today. The few visitors that went along on the final day of Fleet Week, were unable to have a tour of the ship.

However, an officer at the gate this afternoon said that it was possible that the ship's visiting hours would be extended and that it would be open tomorrow, at least in the morning, for visitors. The opening wasn't guaranteed as they were awaiting orders, he said.

At the time of posting this blog, it had not been possible to get a comment from the Fleet Week organization.

Power outtages affected the city, including part of the County Hospital on Potrero Hill. At Mission Creek by lunchtime the Mission Bay Parks department had spotted a tree that had nearly blown over. They secured it with a rope and poles - pics show tree, and birds taking refuge on the bank of the creek

On the NBC11 news tonight there were pictures of trees down and roads flooded around the city.

Residents woke up to high winds and heavy rain early this morning, and with an NBC report of 30 mph gusts over the Golden Gate Bridge and a fall of 3"-5" rain.

Early forecasts that the rain and heavy winds would subside by 2pm proved not to be the case. There was a lull in the city around mid-morning but by 12 pm the high winds and torrential rain were back with a vengeance and were still continuing at 4pm.

But not everyone was affected by the weather! At Pier 39 this afternoon - pic at top shows a few visitors looking over to a rain-shrouded Alcatraz - quite a few of the sea lions were out swimming in the dock and the bay.

'They're not bothered by the weather!' said Sue Muzzin, Director of Public Relations & Advertising for Pier 39.

The San Francisco Chronicle reported it to be 'the worst October storm the Bay Area has experienced since 1962, when terrible weather famously disrupted the World Series between the Giants and the New York Yankees.'

The storm has produced record one-day falls for October of 2.48 inches in Downtown San Francisco, and 2.64 inches at SFO.

The Green Bay slipped quietly out of the Bay mid-morning the following day without taking any more visitors on board.

Blue Angels Air Show, Fleet Week 2009, Cancelled!

Cancelled! To the great disappointment of thousands of spectators, fog rolled slowly over the Golden Gate Bridge moments after the start of the first of the Blue Angels' shows yesterday for Fleet Week 2009.

Out in the bay, from the top deck of the San Francisco Belle there was one stunning fly past of the four-jet diamond formation. In breathtaking fashion, the Blue Angels flew with wings interlocking and seemingly so close that you felt you could almost reach up and touch them.

'Every year I never cease to be amazed!' said Joanne, from the Bay Area, who was sipping champagne with Kyle from Seattle. Though unfortunately that turned out to be the end of her amazement.

The Hornblower Cruise was offering champagne, a buffet lunch and the opportunity to meet three US Navy pilots. Lt Erik Kenny - pictured being introduced - narrated from the bridge for the show.

For a few moments after the Blue Angels' brief appearance, he stood on the decking of the bridge and like everyone else on the main deck below, gazed up at empty skies.

'They did fly in the clouds earlier, it's not where you want to be,' Lt Kenny said to a member of the public. And then came the news that the show was cancelled.

From where he stood near the bridge of the ship, he said the horizontal visibility was starting to change and the Blue Angels 'had to have a perfect environment.'

The wind was also starting to pick up but this was not a factor. 'They can adjust their manoeuvers for the wind but not for visibility,' he said.

Lt Kenny pointed to the limiting features of the bay, bounded by the Golden Gate Bridge to the north and, to the south, Yerba Buena Island, the Bay Bridge and the Oakland Hills. 'They can't really shift the show that much,' he explained.

Before the sole appearance of the Blue Angels, their support cargo plane, a C-130 nicknamed Fat Albert, went over the ship. Fat Albert, named after a children's cartoon and manned by the Marine Corps, said 'Hi!' with a wiggle of wings and marked the end of the earlier part of the airshow.

By going on the Blue Angels lunch cruise, the 1,000 passengers opted to miss the first part of the show, much of which is aerobatics. Included in the aerobatic teams were Sean D Tucker, one of the Living Legends in Aviation with his Team Oracle, and two female pilots, Chevron's Julie Clark, a retired Northwest Airlines captain, and 25-year-old Melissa Pemberton whose Melissa Aerobatics is based in San Francisco.

Also scheduled were a U.S. F-16 Viper West, the United States Air Force’s newest fighter aircraft, the F-22A Raptor and the U.S. Coast Guard Helicopter.

As the San Francisco Belle positioned herself south of Alcatraz to wait for the Blue Angels, there was a fly over of the Patriot Jets demonstration team, noted for a signature 'Tail Slide' and for being the only jet demo team to have their aircraft sliding tail first towards the ground. There was a distant glimpse of a stunt plane and sight of a United Airways jumbo circling the bay, and that was that.

For Elaine, a San Franciscan living in Sacramento who has just celebrated her 69th birthday, this was her first visit to Fleet Week. As she stood on deck before the start of the show, she was as enthusiastic about the bay as much as the anticipated show. Which turned out to be a very good thing!

'I just love to be out on the bay, just to see this view and this air and this water,' she said. 'My mother worked at the Ferry Building in the 1930s and she talked about living here.'

As news of the cancelled show reached people, Charles quipped to his wife, Betty, 'Those guys fly closer together than I want to walk!'

The couple, from Stockton, California, are volunteer musical entertainers in convalescent hospitals and retirement homes, and were not going to let the non-appearance of the Angels spoil their day.

'We came for the trip,' they said.

Overhead, the sky was clear but last night on Kron4 News, the Commander for the Blue Angels said that he had made the decision to cancel the show based on visibility in the bay and low cloud cover around the city's skyscrapers.

Safety was more important than entertainment, he said. A minimum of three nautical miles is needed, according to the Blue Angels' website.

They also need a minimum cloud ceiling of 1,500 ft for what they call a 'flat' show. For a 'low' show with rolling maneouvers they need 3,500 ft and for a 'high' show, 8,000 ft. The highest manoeuvers are vertical rolls that can be performed up to 15,000 ft, and the lowest and fastest are the 700 mph Sneak Passes at a ground-hugging, sea-skimming 50 ft.

In combat conditions, the Hornets can reach speeds just under Mach 2, almost twice the speed of sound or about 1,400 mph, and climb at 30,000 feet per minute.

For the show, they had been intending to meld some of the celebrated features of San Francisco into their routine by buzzing Alcatraz, flying through the Golden Gate Bridge and whizzing around Coit Tower.

The Angels, in the blue and gold colours of the US Navy, have been flying the F/A-18 Hornet for 23 years. Formed in 1946, their name comes from that of a famous New York nightclub that was spotted by a team member in the New Yorker Magazine.

The pilots' average age is 33 years, and while they serve a two-year tour with the team are away from home for much of the year.

This season they are scheduled to fly 69 air shows at 35 air show sites in the US. Last season, 13 million people watched them perform, and in total their shows have been watched by over 455 million people. They also perform on the ground, visiting more than 50,000 people in schools and hospitals.

Fog and cloud permitting, the second of the airshows is due 12.30 - 3 pm and the Blue Angels are due to perform from 3- 4 pm.

Fleet Week 2008 - Air Display

Thunderous and thrilling, the Blue Angels once again dominated the air display yesterday afternoon for Fleet Week.

They soared across the city and around the bay with spectacular skills that enthralled the crowd.


The bay front from Fisherman's Wharf to Crissy Field near the Golden Gate Bridge was carpeted with people.

Some were craning necks to catch as much of the action as possible, some were wrestling with cameras to get that superlative shot, while others were partying and picnicing beneath an intermittent canopy of roaring blue and yellow streaks.

Fleet Week is an annual opportunity for San Francisco to 'honor the men and women currently serving in the US and allied armed forces, particularly in the United States Navy, Marines and Coast Guard, and to learn about their character and skill, and the pride with which they carry out their duties,' said Edward M. Leonard, Chairman of the San Francisco Fleet Week Committee.

The air display, lasting three-and-a-half hours, has a wonderful variety of aircraft, but it is the US Navy display team, the Blue Angels, that captures the most attention.

From their entry in Delta Formation - four flying together and two solo pilots - when they swooped across the bay and up to the Golden Gate Bridge, all eyes and ears were on them.

Particularly awe-inspiring is their close-formation flying. There were moments when you looked up and could say 'Closer than a brother'! Or that they fitted 'hand to glove.' Yet another routine had them nose-to-tail like a streamer.

And this in powerful F-18 Hornets that can break the sound barrier with an airspeed of Mach 1.8 +.

On such a beautiful afternoon, and from the vantage point of Fort Mason, it was a fantastic sight to see them soar over and around the bridge.

The power was there, too, as they criss-crossed, hurtled headlong at each other and flipped their wings to pass, rolled and flew upside down, trailed plumes in patterns in the sky, on one routine the smoke cascading down like a fountain, and corkscrewed up and out of sight.

Not to be outdone, though, the affectionately named 'Fat Albert' heralded the Blue Angels appearance with a little tour of his own!

Fat Albert is the C-130 hercules transporter plane for the Blue Angels carrying their support and maintenance crew and equipment.

During the show season, Fat Albert flies over 140,000 miles and is the only Marine Corps aircraft permanently assigned to support a Navy squadron.

Tomorrow, they go through it all again! Formed in 1946, the Blue Angels have performed in front of more than 440 million people.

***The air display this morning is at the same time as today: 12.30 - 3 pm for other aircraft. 3 pm - 4 pm Blue Angels.

pics show the Blue Angels and crowds at North Beach

For albums of stunning pics by Chris, click here

For two albums of more stunning pics by Colin and Evelyn - Colin is the professional photographer I interviewed during the air display practice - click on the following:

Album 1 Album 2

Tibet Protests at Golden Gate Bridge (3)

This Tibetan family, pictured above left, living in the Bay Area took part in a peaceful protest walk across the Golden Gate Bridge today as China celebrated the Opening Ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympics....see first reports and pics in earlier blogs

Life as a third generation refugee is hard, says mum Tashi pictured far right.

'The hope and the effort to gain our own country, I feel it more strongly than my mother feels it,' she said.

She has never seen her homeland. 'I would love to see it,' she said.

Tibet is still her home country even though her family have not lived there for so many years. Her grandfather was the first refugee in her family. He fled to India, his wife - Tashi's grandmother - having died in Tibet.

Tashi is pictured with her mother, Yangkar, sister Jampa, daughters ten-year-old twins Kunsang and Lhamo, and 11-year-old Yiga, and ten-year-old nephew Tsepal.

She was born in India but left the country in 1988 at the age of 19 years to come to the States to do a nursing degree.

Today she has no direct contact with anyone in Tibet, but has friends whose parents still live there. Communication is difficult, she said. As a member of the Tibetan Association of Northern California, she is in touch with fellow countrymen.

'People are so excited about the 2008 Games but the thing is, people in Tibet are so afraid to practice their religion or to keep a picture of His Holiness the Dalai Llama in their home,' she said.

'They don't have the freedom to pray or express their pain. We know that Tibet was a free country. China is so big and powerful people think we should give up. We don't want to give up,' she said.

Pictured are from left to right, back: grandmother Yangkar, nephew Tsepal (10), sister Jampa, mum Tashi; in front: twins Kunsang and Lhamo (10), Yiga (11)

Free Tibet Protests at GG Bridge and Chinese Embassy

As celebrations of the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games took place in Beijing today, several hundred Tibetan people from around the Bay Area staged a peaceful protest at the Golden Gate Bridge....for first report see earlier blog...

The rope holding the protester rappelling down the side of the Chinese Embassy on Wednesday WAS cut by embassy officials, a leader of the Students for a Free Tibet said today.

Seldon, Regional Coordinator for the protest group, said one of the two girls on the embassy roof had pleaded with officials, 'please don't cut the rope because my friend could be in danger.'

But instead, officials cut the rope allowing 26-year-old Brihnnala Morgan to fall breaking a wrist and bruising her back. They then hustled 22-year-old Nyendak Wangden into the embassy. Nyendak is also claiming that staff beat her up. Certainly she has bruises, said Seldon today.

She was speaking by the Golden Gate Bridge after a peaceful Free Tibet protest walk across the bridge and back had finished.

On Wednesday the two girls on behalf of Students for a Free Tibet had scaled the embassy wall in San Francisco. Brinhnnala had then rappelled down from the roof as a black robed and hooded figure in a hanging scene to symbolise Tibetans who have died at the hands of China.

But then embassy officials ran onto the roof. Nyendak had been ready to comply with the officials' requests and pull Brihnnala back up to end the protest but despite her warnings of the danger the rope was cut, Seldon said.

Seldon witnessed some of the event. 'I was there. I saw her (Brihnnala) fall down,' she said.

A video film of part of the event was shot by chance by someone who overlooked the roof from a nearby building. Screened by NBC11 in their news broadcast, it shows embassy staff hustling Nydendak off the roof. But by then the rope had already been cut and there is no film of that. There is, however, news film of Nydendak shouting out as she got into a police car that the rope had been cut.

There has been some query as to whether the rope could have snapped.

Seldon says the rope could not have snapped because it was 'extremely strong and sturdy.'

If the rope had snapped, she said, it would have had to have been because Brihnnala had mishandled it and 'that is not possible because Brihnnala is an extremely trained professional who has done many acts of civil disobedience.'

It was somehow fitting that she was talking at the Golden Gate Bridge, for Brihnnala's last spectacular act was when she scaled the stanchions of the bridge in April. With two other protesters she hung 'One World, One Dream' and 'Free Tibet 08' banners between the cables prior to the Olympic Torch run in San Francisco.

On that occasion, though, there had been a problem with a rope when according to the report in the San Fran Chronicle a rope had become entangled.

Neither girl took part in today's protest. Nyendak was recovering from her injuries and Brihnnala from the experience of having been held in police custody until yesterday.

According to the San Fran Chronicle....http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/08/08/BA76127JRO.DTL&hw=chinese+embassy+protest&sn=008&sc=448...... the girls have been charged with 'forcibly thrusting' themselves onto a building used for diplomatic purposes to 'intimidate, coerce, threaten or harass.' They have been released on $25,000 bail each and have been ordered to stay away from the embassy and its staff. Their next hearing is on August 20 and if convicted they face up to six months in prison or a $5,000 fine.

There are no reported comments so far from either the embassy or police who are investigating.

Another protester at the bridge yesterday, Gurmey, who was standing with a group of fellow supporters, megaphone in hand, said of the girls, 'It is good that they sacrificed themselves for the good of Tibet.

They just want to put the Olympic light on Tibet.'

Seldon was also excited about the Students For a Free Tibet protest that occurred earlier today at the Opening Ceremony of the Games in Beijing. Three protesters, Kaalayan, Jonathan and Caesar had unwound their tee-shirts and pulled out a Tibetan flag which they were able to wave for 40 seconds, she said, before they were pounced on by Chinese Olympic officials.

'It is an achievement to be able to do that!' she said

She and many of the Tibetans at the Golden Gate Bridge then moved on to the Chinese embassy to join other protesters mid-afternoon for a repeat protest.

Tonight a prayer vigil at the BART station across the bay in Berkeley is being held.

Other protests are planned including a rally that will be held at the end of the Olympic Games, said Tenzin Tethong, protest leader.

***Seldon has posted her own report of the embassy incident on the Students for a Free Tibet website.

Pics show Seldon, Regional Coordinator of Students for a Free Tibet, and Gurmey, (far left) with fellow supporters.

For an album pics click here. Click on pics to enlarge.

Free Tibet Protest at Golden Gate Bridge

As celebrations of the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games took place in Beijing today, several hundred Tibetan people from around the Bay Area staged a peaceful protest at the Golden Gate Bridge.

They gathered at the bridge at midday and, led by Bhuddist monks, walked across it, circled the viewing area on the opposite end and then returned.

Some were draped in the bright Tibetan flag, some wore national costume, many wore sloganed yellow tunics...'One World, One Dream, Free Tibet'... or the black sweatshirts of Team Tibet.

Tenzin Tethong, one of the protest leaders, said there were only about 1,200 Tibetan people in the Bay Area, so to see about half of them there was a significant percentage for a small community.

'I really feel very strongly that everyone needs to come out and show their feelings for Tibet,' he said.

'The intensity of China's harshness and crackdown in Tibet is considerable. Thousands of people have been arrested recently in Tibet and about 200 killed, although the Chinese say officially about a dozen died.

It's always like this. They put out propaganda and unfortunately it works,' he said.

China, he added were accusing Tibetan people of causing the deaths of Chinese people in Tibet. 'Even if that's true, countered Tenzin as we walked across the bridge at the back of the line, 'that's tens of people. What about the thousands of Tibetans who are killed?!'

What he does take issue with is the way China are using the Games as a publicity tool.

'It's not being used primarily for sport,' he said, but to present an image of a 'stable, harmonious, peaceful society, which is really misinformation.'

What effect, I asked him, did he think the protests in the run up to the Games had had?

'I don't think any immediate effect,' he said candidly. 'The Chinese mindset says that if you want to be in control, you'd better be in control!'

Visitors to the bridge looked on happily as the protest walked by.

Catherine, Philippe and Bruno were from France.

'I think it is good,' said Catherine. But between the three of them, discussing the issue in French, they felt that it would not have any effect on 'the machine of China.'

'Tibet has no chance,' said Bruno. 'It has minerals and water. And China needs minerals and water!'

As the protests reached the far side of the bridge and more TV and press cameras were there to greet them the chants started up again.

'Olympics in China! Genocide in Tibet!'

'Olympics in China! Torture in Tibet!'

A crowd on a passing open-top tour bus turned their cameras on the procession.

One of the cheer leaders was 19-year-old student Tenzin of Team Tibet.

'I am a full-blood Tibetan but I've never been there,' she said. Her family links with Tibet go back to her great-grandparents.

'We want our country back. We want freedom,' she said.

Rob and Emma, in their twenties from England, watched from the viewing area.

I asked Rob what he thought of the protest.

'I agree completely,' he said. 'I think the IOC (International Olympic Committee) and the UN should use their influence more strongly in order to try to pressure the government to soften its stance on human rights.

Unfortunately, economics talks!'

Emma agreed with him. About the athletes, she added, 'I don't think people should boycott it (the Games). They should have made a statement beforehand. But now that they're there, they should support it.

It's not fair. If you're an athlete you only have a certain peak period when you are at your optimum. You shouldn't have to sacrifice that to make a statement.'

The problems for Tibetan families living outside of the country are acute. Sitting on the grass back over the bridge at the end of the walk were one such group. They have not been in contact with family members for a few months, especially because China has made telephone links very difficult.

Wrapped in her Tibetan flag, Sonam said they are not even sure if their family members are still alive after the March 10 crackdown when many people were imprisoned and tortured.

For further interviews, including what happened at the Chinese Embassy protest when a protester fell, and more pics, see next blogs.

For album pics click here. Click on pics to enlarge

Golden Gate Bridge Protest

The Golden Gate Bridge had extra colour this morning - when protesters hung two banners and two Tibetan flags from one of its towers. The banners proclaimed: One World, One Dream, Free Tibet 08.

The report with pics in the San Fran Chronicle says the banners were hung by members of Students for a Free Tibet. Three of them, two men and a woman, climbed up one of the bridge's towers 150 ft over the road and 370 ft above the water. They had concealed their climbing gear from security cameras by smuggling it onto the bridge in a baby buggy.

They were arrested after they climbed down and five other group members were also rounded up by police. Traffic over the bridge is slow and pedestrian access has been stopped.

Protests over China's human rights records are hotting up around the world and the Olympic Torch is due here on Wednesday.

The Tibetan Freedom Torch arrives here tomorrow with events beginning at 11 am in the United Nations Plaza by the Civic Center.

Pic shows a Tibetan flag waved by protesters at the Global Human Rights Rally in Union Square on Saturday