SS United States spotted in South Florida week after leaving Philadelphia
PHILADELPHIA – The SS United States is continuing its final voyage.
“America’s Flagship” made its way past Palm Beach, Florida, on Wednesday, exactly a week after it set sail on the Delaware River.
The backstory:
The SS United States sat in South Philadelphia for 30 years before finally leaving its dock after several setbacks and weather delays.
Tug boats moved the ship from its pier into the river, where it waited for the changing tides to carry it further down the river, and into the Atlantic Ocean.
It has since been spotted along the coast of Florida over the past several days.
What’s next:
After making a stop in Mobile, Alabama, for repairs, the historic ship will reach its final destination in Destin, Florida, where it will be sunk to become part of the world’s largest artificial reef.
The repairs are estimated to take as long as 6 months to a year.
What you can do:
If you want to keep up with the ship’s progress, you can track its journey online.
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SS United States spotted in South Florida week after leaving Philadelphia
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The huge, historic, SS United States cruised by Palm Beach County. Where is it headed?
The historic SS United States ocean liner cruised by Palm Beach County’s coast early Wednesday, Feb. 26, on its way to Alabama for a cleaning before being sunk off the Florida Panhandle to create an artificial reef.
At nearly 1,000-feet-long, the 75-year-old ship is longer than the ill-fated Titanic, and unique for holding the speed record for crossing the Atlantic Ocean — a trip it made in just over three days, 10 hours.
The ship’s top secret creation was done in a partnership between the United States and a private company to develop a “super ship” that could be part luxury liner and part weapon to be used during the Cold War. It was built just wide enough to fit through the Panama Canal with a two-foot clearance on both sides.
More:SS United States starts last voyage to its final destination – at the bottom of the Gulf
But the ship, which is distinctive for its 65-foot funnels that vented smoke and exhaust away from passengers on deck, was retired from active service in 1969 and languished at a South Philadelphia pier for nearly 30 years. A dispute between pier owners and the SS United States Conservancy meant it had to vacate its longtime resting place.
Okaloosa County bought the SS United States for $10 million in October, with plans to sink the ship to create an artificial reef off Destin-Fort Walton Beach and open an land-based museum. The ship left earlier this month for its estimated two-week journey to Mobile, Alabama.
“While this is not the outcome we originally envisioned, the ship will have a future,” the conservancy wrote on its website. “The next chapter of the SS United States story will bring tens of thousands of people annually from around the world to experience her.”
People may have seen the ship, widely known as “America’s Flagship” off Palm Beach County’s coast between 7 a.m. and noon on Wednesday.
Palm Beach resident Philip Metlin had been tracking the ship’s journey and was excited to see it glide by Midtown beach early Wednesday. He got up on the roof of his condominium to take photos.
“I was so lucky because it could have happened in the middle of the night,” said Metlin, who is familiar with the ship after living and working in the Philadelphia area. “I was hoping it would be saved because it has had such a storied life.”
You can track the journey to Alabama here.
Tugboats are being used to pull the SS United States because the long-retired ship’s engines no longer work. It is expected to take more than a year to ready the ship for sinking, and up to an additional year to arrange the deployment, according to the conservancy.
While the exact location of the artificial reef hasn’t been determined, it is expected to be about 20 nautical miles south of the Destin-Fort Walton Beach area.
The ocean liner was in service from 1952 to 1969.
It was widely known as “America’s Flagship”
It was the fastest passenger ship every built and the largest ever made in the United States.
The ship still holds the transatlantic speed record, which it won on its maiden voyage. During sea trials the ship hit 44 mph. Modern cruise ships travel about 28 mph.
Famous passengers on the ship included Walt Disney, Marilyn Monroe, Marlon Brando, Sean Connery, Walter Cronkite, Judy Garland, Cary Grant, Charlton Heston, Bob Hope, Prince Rainier and Grace Kelly, Elizabeth Taylor, John Wayne, and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor.
Four U.S. presidents were also passengers on the SS United States including Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, John Kennedy and a young Bill Clinton, who was on his way to study at Oxford.
Palm Beach Post staff writer Eddie Ritz contributed to this report.
Kimberly Miller is a journalist for The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA Today Network of Florida. She covers real estate, weather, and the environment. Subscribe to The Dirt for a weekly real estate roundup. If you have news tips, please send them to kmiller@pbpost.com. Help support our local journalism: Subscribe today.
