Many, many years ago when my family would get to the Charleston area, we'd stop in at Patriots Point. Part of my love for historic ships comes from those visits we'd make there. The first time we visited, I was seven or eight. The carrier Yorktown seemed like the biggest thing in the world I'd ever seen, and I was fascinated.
Over the years they added a few more ships and opened them for tours. One of the most historically significant was the nuclear ship Savannah, basically built as a technology demonstrator, to show that atomic power could be used in the name of commerce. Savannah was a beautiful ship and caused quite a sensation, but for a variety of reasons (controversy over her nuclear power plant, the switch from breakbulk ships to containerships, and labor issues, among others) didn't quite work out as a merchant vessel, and her time in service was comparatively brief and occasionally turbulent.
For many years you could go aboard Savannah down at Patriots Point, and it was like going aboard a time capsule. It was sometimes eerie, too. Few people wanted to go aboard a big merchant ship when there was a bigger ship parked nearby that had cool airplanes up on the deck and all that stuff. Often, you'd have the ship to yourself, and I remember one visit, standing on the promenade deck with my parents, looking through the big windows out toward the ocean, watching the containerships come in. A few years later, when Savannah was due for a required drydocking and inspection, Patriots Point gave the ship back to the Maritime Administration. The poor ship never quite fit in there, and some lofty plans they had to turn the ship into part of the attraction never worked out.
For many years after, I wondered what happened to poor old Savannah. Pictures eventually emerged online of the ship sitting in the James River Reserve Fleet, looking forlorn and rusty, and I worried a little bit. I wondered if someday soon we'd see her at the end of a towline, headed off to be "recycled" the same way they "recycle" nuclear warships. I knew that because of her unique powerplant, there were a lot of regulations and precautions and protocols that had to be followed, and that they couldn't just dispose of her like any other ship. I didn't see the future looking that bright.
Then, one glorious day a few years ago, I did some looking around and learned that Savannah was in a shipyard in Baltimore undergoing maintenance. There were pictures. They'd completely repainted her! She looked better than I'd ever seen her. And, as ridiculous as it may be to assign human emotions to an inanimate object, my old friend looked proud and happy once again. I know that MarAd had to do certain things because of the ship's complicated nature, but they could have just stuck with what was absolutely necessary and left it at that. Instead, now the ship lives again and has people on board as a matter of course. It's more than maintenance; it seems like she's cared for, and there's a little pride involved. Savannah will likely never sail again, but she's again a showpiece, hosting special events and continuing to educate and inform in a new way.
The other day I found out there's now a virtual tour of the ship. If you have a fast line, you can see some spectacular 360-degree views of places on board that most folks have never seen. The public spaces are also documented, including some that weren't open for visits while the ship was on display at Patriots Point. I was very happy to see that while some of the furnishings are gone, an awful lot remains intact, and the ship continues to be a floating time capsule. Take a look and enjoy the trip back in time.
BTW, there's a group already working to make sure the ship has a long, happy retirement once MarAd lets the ship go. It's a noble cause, and of course, I wish them the very best. I hope the chance will come soon for me to renew my acquaintance with my beloved old friend.