The Princess Taiping docks in San Francisco

The Princess Taiping, a handcrafted Chinese Junk and replica of a Ming Dynasty war ship, was supposed to end up in Vancouver after a 69-day motor-less voyage across the Pacific Ocean from Japan. But a tropical storm drove it to Eureka, CA, instead on Saturday and the crew has since decided to sail south. The junk arrived in San Francisco yesterday (10/14) and plans to stay on for around a week before proceeding to Long Beach. Photos by Jeff Grossman and Janine Kahn.

Janine Kahn

Captain Liu Ning-Sheng, 61, says the hardest part of the journey was "culture." His 8-member crew is composed of many an Asian nationality, and living in such close quarters was a challenge, he says.