SS United States and Ocean Liner Legends
Red, White and Blue!
Early summer marks the anniversaries of several exciting milestones for the legendary SS United States. On June 23, 1951, a crowd of 12,000 onlookers celebrated the ship’s christening. A red, white, and blue banner adorned the ship’s bow, and the 50th Army Band serenaded the massive crowd with a rendition of “Salutation March.” Lucille Connally, wife of Senator Tom Connally, Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, christened the ship with a bottle of (American!) champagne.
One year later, on July 3, 1952, the SS United States embarked on her maiden voyage. Scheduled to coincide with Fourth of July celebrations, excitement was in the air for the Big U’s much-anticipated grand debut.
Sad Sight!
Last April, Richard Weiss took a few weeks to make a road trip to visit a friend across the bay from Mobile, Alabama. Part of the journey was also to make one last visit to the United States and this can be seen from the tour boat Perdido Queen, which makes tours along the river of all the ships on both sides of the busy harbor.
“You cannot get unobstructed views of the ship from the shore,” said Richard. “The tour operator offered some souvenirs, but the most interesting I felt were the glass coffee mugs with a depiction of the Big U. At the end of the harbor cruise the mugs were all sold, but they had some other things with the same image on them. Later in the afternoon we went to the shore side of the ship to take further pictures.”
What you see here is that many of the port holes have been removed and nearly all the glass on the promenade decks on both sides has been removed as well.
A sad sight indeed!
Justin Zizes reported in late July: “All non-metal items are still in the process of being removed [at Mobile] and the stacks have been prepped for removal. The removal of the stacks is expected in the coming weeks. Holes will be strategically cut around the vessel both before and at the deployment site.”
“She will then be pumped with water beginning with the stern until the water level reaches the holes. As the water fills the vessel, she will begin to sink using this controlled flooding method. She will be anchored at the bow to ensure she is upright when she lands on the bottom of the Gulf. The ship will be sunk at a depth of 180 feet, 20 nautical miles south of Destin-Fort Walton Beach. A new date has now been set for the ship’s sinking, with Okaloosa County confirming that the ship is set to be sunk in late 2025 or early 2026.”
My Little Ships and Little Harbors!
Yes, I “play” every day – and sometimes several times.
There are early morning arrivals, midday sailings, even late night departures. What fun! And being high summer, the docks are all but crammed; the shipyards busy.
And in the “real” New York harbor: An estimated 1million passengers will arrive & depart from Manhattan, Brooklyn & Bayonne/Cape Liberty this year.
Well Deserved!
Our dear and longtime friend Captain Jim McNamara was awarded a lifetime achievement acknowledgement for his outstanding contribution to the maritime industry and especially to maritime history. Seen with Matt Schulte, Executive Director and CEO of the Steamship Historical Society of America, Jim’s long maritime background goes back to the freighters of the States Marine Lines and later became president of the National Cargo Bureau. His knowledge of ships and shipping, past and present, is unequaled.
Fond Farewell!
The 77 year-old Astoria – the former Stockholm & numerous names thereafter – departed from Rotterdam under tow on July 3. A short voyage ahead, the long idle ship was bound for scrappers in Ghent in neighboring Belgium. The photos below were taken by G. Barendrecht and forwarded to us by our fine Dutch friend and “agent” Jan Willem Goudriaan.
Notation!
Although I haven’t fully checked, and now that the Astoria (1948) has gone for scrap, the laid-up (at Lisbon) Portuguese Funchal (1961 and seen below) might have become the oldest traditional cruise ship still afloat.
Fine Food!
Lunch (on July 3) with longtime friend and shipmate Dr. Nelson Arnstein. Undoubtedly, he is one of the world’s greatest passenger ship collectors. Just in New York and off a QM2 crossing, he was visiting from his homes in California.
Nelson is also a magnificently skilled photographer and shared photos of the Main Hall of the Cunard Building at 25 Broadway in Lower Manhattan. Now well over 100 years old, Cunard left in 1968 and today the space is used by Cipriani Hotels for special events.
Sound the Whistle!
Rebecca Klein sent these views from onboard the Queen Mary 2 caught in a fog off the New England coast last June.
Post Card!
Several friends were aboard the Queen Mary 2 for its annual Fourth of July cruise out of New York.
Bygone Days!
Union-Castle Line’s Arundel Castle has been mentioned several times lately.
From over in England, David Hutchings dug into his extensive files and found this departure scene of the same ship (but in her early days as a four-stacker) departing from Southampton.
And one from the passage down to South Africa.
Chance Encounter!
Recently ran into Douglas Frost, a long-ago classmate, from Hoboken schools, and he reminded that he and his parents emigrated from Southampton to New York (the pier was actually across the Hudson in Hoboken) on the Greek Line and aboard their Neptunia. The year was 1955.
Primarily a low-fare tourist ship, the Neptunia dated from 1920 and joined the Greek Line in 1948. Previously, it had been the Johan De Witt, a Dutch passenger ship used on the colonial run between Amsterdam and the Dutch East Indies.
Advertising posters for the Greek Line. From the William H. Miller collection.
Another Greek Line ship used on the then busy North Atlantic route, between Bremerhaven, Southampton, Cherbourg and to Halifax and New York was the New York, the former Tuscania of the Anchor Line. In the 1950s, a large part of the trade was West Germans relocating to the US and Canada.
And More Nostalgia!
On Jun 17, a recreated Pan Am jet departed JFK Airport in New York on a 12-day “air cruise”. It was all done and complete down to Pan Am tableware and linen napkins. Yes, it was grand. A sell-out too!
And the fare if you need to know — $60,000 per person.
