 On 5 May , Evans returned to Connecticut in time for the fleet 's sailing through the Golden Gate on 6 May , although he was still in pain . Over one million people watched the 42 @-@ ship fleet sail into the bay . After a grand parade through San Francisco , a review of the fleet by Secretary of the Navy Victor H. Metcalf , a gala reception , and a farewell address from Evans ( who was retiring due to his illness and his age ) , the fleet left San Francisco for Seattle , with Rear Admiral Charles Stillman Sperry as commander . The ships all underwent refits before the next leg of the voyage . The fleet left the West Coast again on 7 July , bound for Hawaii , which it reached on 16 July . 
