AsHIP NOTES, SEAPORT & MUSEUM NEWS ff!i1 Pensacola, FL, residents voted in September to approve the development of the Community Maritime Park, a public/private venture planned fo r 30 acres of publicly owned property on Pensacola
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ADMIRAL JO H N H . FETTERMAN STATE OF FLORIDA MARITIME MUSEUM AND RESEARCH CENTER
Bay. The C ommunity M aritime Park will include a multi-purpose stadium, a conference center, a m aritime museum, University of West Florida con tinuing education center, a m arina and fishing pier and mixed-use development, including retail and commercial space. The park is tentatively scheduled to open in 2009, depending o n the progress of the site preparation. Th e Admi ral John H . Fetterman State of Flo rida Mari time M useum and Research Center will display artifac ts recovered by UWF's na utical archaeology teams, contain interactive teaching exhibits and an aquarium fo cusing on regional ecosystems. The UWF Marine Support C enter will be relocated there along with their Beet of research boats. For m o re details, co ntact D ean Van Galen, UWF Vice President fo r D evelo pment, Ph. 850 4743306; e-m ail: dvangalen@uwf.edu. • • • Timothy J. Sullivan, the former president of the College of William and Mary, has been chosen as the new CEO of the Mariners' Museum in Newport News, VA. The current president and CEO, John B. Hi gh tower, will retire in D ecember. In 1998, Hightower aligned the museum with the Navy and N OAA in their expedition to recover U SS Monitor's pro peller, the first of several missions that have bro ught, literally, to ns of artifac ts to the museum. 1 h e trustees hope the new Mo nito r Center, scheduled to open in March , will in crease the number of visitors to the museum . Trustees also hope Sullivan will bring so me of the sam e fundraising acumen he displayed at William and Mary. In 2002, he launched a fundraising campaign there to raise $5 00 million in five years. The campaign is currently within $3 0 million of achieving that goal by
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SPUN YARN the projected date of]un e 2007. Sullivan's
plans fo r the museum include a new building to house its extensive maritime library of books, logs, and charts. (MM, 100 Museum Drive, Newport News, VA 23606; Ph . 757 596-2222; www.mari ne r. org) ... USS Or/eek (DD 886) , the subject of Sea History's "Historic Ship on a Lee Shore" (Spring 2006, #114) , has landed in federal court, accused of trespassing and impeding marine traffic in the Sabine River (Texas) . The suit seeks to have Southeast Texas War Mem o rial and H eritage Foundation, the ship's owners, remove the vessel and pay for repairs . While the cause of the damage she sustained dur-
USS Or/eek in 2002
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ing Hurricane Ri ta when a barge sm ashed into her hull is not in dispute, the question of who is liable is. Al though the barges did break loose duri ng the storm, the barge owners claim that USS Or/eek had also broken loose from her mooring and is thus not an innocent victim. Even if the owners can find a m eans to move the ship, her fo rmer berth in Orange, T X, is no longer available, and a new hom e fo r her has not been identified. Orange C ity council m embers have vo ted no t to allow the ship to re turn there. . • • The International Yacht Restoration School (IYRS) has secured a new funding source for the restoration of the 1885 schooner yacht Coronet. In July, the Newport, RI, school signed a "Letter of Understanding" with Robert M cNeil of San Francisco, whose background restoring the steam yacht Cangarda makes him well qualified to take on the proj ect. In 2005, the IYRS board of trustees placed the Coronet Project o n hold
to redi rect fundraising efforts to the restoration of the Aqu id neck mill building to expand their camp us and to better foc us on their core educational programs. With the signing of the agreement with McNeil, a classic boat enthusias t and accomplished maxi racer, full-scale resroration on the hull and deck can move fo rward. In addition to Cangarda, McNeil has also restored and owns the H erreshoff P-Boat ]oyant, frequently seen in New England waters and at classic yacht regattas. As much of Coronet's restoration as possible will occur at IYRS, consistent with the institution's vision of providing employment to IYRS grad uates and an attraction fo r visito rs. The yacht and restoratio n materi als will be conveyed to M cNeil. IYRS will maintain ownership of the research, building, equipm ent, and any m aterials that are not used during the hull and deck phase of the restora tion . When completed, the yacht will serve as a Boating museum, sailing to other ports for educational purposes and will ...
Coronet c. 1891-93
frequent majo r classic yach t regattas in M aine, Antigu a, and St. Tropez. (IYRS, 449 Tham es Street, Newport, RI 02840; Ph. 401 848-5777; e-m ail : info@yacht coronet.org; www.yach tcoronet.org) ...
SEA HISTORY 11 7, WINTER 2006-07