Save the United States!

Those who know me know that I love trains.  But I also love ships. And airplanes.  And automobiles.  In fact, I pretty much love anything big that moves. And one of the biggest things I ever saw move was the S.S. United States. I saw her putting to sea in 1946 in New York when I was five years old.  To retain that memory 51 years later means it must have impressed me very much.

I have been fortunate to have sailed on three liners:  

My first voyage was aboard the T.S.S. Olympia, of the Greek Line, from New York to the Northern Maritimes to witness the solar eclipse in 1973.  The Olympia was ultimately operated by several different companies and had several different names, but in 2010, after one of the longest sailing careers in history - 56 years - was towed to India and scrapped. Wikipedia: TSS Olympia / Regal_Empress

My second ocean trip came the next year as we departed New York for a two-week transatlantic voyage to the coast of Africa aboard the P&O liner Canberra, to see that years total solar eclipse. She was one of the most beautiful ships of the old school, where you laid a keel and built up from there, and sailed from 1961 until 1977, when was scrapped in Pakistan.  Wikipedia: SS Canberra

My last (at least for the moment) cruise was with my wife and children aboard the M.V. Wonder of the Disney Steamship Line.  She is by far the largest ship I've sailed upon, and while she was built using modern-day pre-fabricated modules (which in my humble opinion has given us some very unpleasant-looking ships), she was painted to give the impression of the lines of a traditional liner and much of her interior is an homage to the great liners of the Cunard Line.

I have also stood upon the flying bridge of the R.M.S. Queen Elizabeth (another 1964 memory) as my family and I bade bon voyage to my grandmother, Rosetta, as she sailed to Europe.  A beautiful ship and sister to R.M.S. Queen Mary, she was sold to become a floating university, but in 1972, during refitting in Hong Kong harbor, caught fire and capsized from all the water poured into her to fight the fire. The following year she was scrapped where she lay.

So, those are my Ocean Liner bonafides.  And now, on to the subject of this blog entry:
                      Saving the United States

I've never sailed aboard the United States, but as I said, I did see her getting underway.  In transatlantic service from 1952 until 1969, the United States was the fastest liner afloat, and one of the fastest ships of any kind in the world.  Equipped with a power plant similar to those of the New Jersey-class battleships, United States broke all records on her maiden voyage, powering through the water at over 40 mph.

Now, that's a Big Thing that moves!

In the 1994 she was towed to Ukraine where all of her innards (especially all of the asbestos insulation) were removed, and that's why she's just empty inside--except for one wall, it seems, and the boiler and engine rooms.  Also, because they no longer met specifications, all of her lifeboats stayed there as well. Then she was towed back to Philly where she sits, looking somewhat emaciated without her boats, waiting for a new mission.

You can see an awesome video of how she looks in the inside today here.

Although she looks pretty awful with no interior, one plus of this is that she will be much easier to adapt to new needs if they can take her to NYC and a new, if albeit stationery, life. 

I continue to hope that this great ship, this symbol of our national drive, will be restored to her former glory and given a new life where she can tell her story as the fastest ocean liner ever. She is an icon of our country, and she needs to be treated as such.  She is our Flagship; our "Ship of State".  She MUST be saved, and it is looking like she may have smooth seas ahead, if this story from Philly.com is any indication:

Click on the image to go to the story...

Additional stories about this possibility for restoration are below...

CBS TV - Deal Struck to save Historic Ocean Liner

NJ.com: Historic ocean liner SS United States saved under new deal

And lastly, click on this logo to go to the SSUS Conservancy....

I joined several years ago.  You should too.

Let's Save Our Ship!