One Last Hope for the Falls of Clyde A last-ditch effort by a Scotland-based group to save the only surviving full-rigged four-masted sailing ship Falls of Clyde is gaining momentum. Save Falls of Clyde-International was established just this past August, when people in the Port of Glasgow were made aware of the ship's dire situation. The Falls of Clyde has been in Honolulu since 1963 and had been restored and opened as a museum ship in 1968. Launched in 1878, she spent two decades hauling freight for the Falls Line of Wright and Breakenridge, which built and operated nine four-masted ships, all named for Scottish waterfalls. In 1898-99, Captain William Matson bought the ship and brought her to Hawaii, from where she spent the next two decades engaged in hauling freight and passengers to the US West Coast and beyond. She first carried sugar and freight to California, sailing back with livestock and passengers. In 1907 she was fitted out as a sailing oil tanker for Associated Oil out of California and continued on her route between Hawaii and California until 1920. The ship was in service as a working ship in various capacities until 1959, when she was retired from service and towed to Seattle to be scurtled as a breakwater. Before that could happen, the ship was saved by a group out of Hawaii, with support from the Matson Navigation Co. and others, and towed to Honolulu. She was fu lly restored and rigged in the 1960s and turned over to the Hawaiian Maritime Center, which was taken over by the Bishop Museum in 1996. In 2008, the Hawaiian Maritime Center made an announcement that the ship was in disrepair and that funds were not in hand to restore her. The museum offered, on a very short timeframe, to hand over ownership to another museum or institution that could take her; if no one came forward, it would have to arrange to have the ship towed out beyond territorial limits and scuttled in deep water, or scuttled in shallower water as an artificial reef for scuba divers. The maritime heritage community was horrified by this sudden turn of events, but no offers were forthcoming until September of that year, when a non-profit group was formed in Hawaii, Friends of the Falls of Clyde, to rake possession of the ship and formu late a plan to have the sh ip saved. Despite their best efforts, the group hasn't been able raise enough funds to get the ship dry docked and restored. In June 2016, the Harbors Division of the Hawaii Department of Transportation revoked the ship's permit, stating that the ship's presence creates a hazard to navigation. Friends of the Falls of Clyde disputes this claim, citing technical reports from naval architects showing that the condition of the ship poses no hazard and a mooring plan submitted to the US Coast Guard, which has not questioned the plan. The safety concerns cited by the State are relative to the ship's storage tanks, not the fabric of the hull. The Harbors Division impounded the ship this past summer and the Friends group was given a couple of weeks to submit a plan to have the vessel removed from the harbor. In July, Friends of the Falls of Clyde submitted a plan that provided two contingency options: transfer of ownership to an entity outside of Hawaii, and contact with a local company that has expressed interest in the ship as a dive site. With efforts and support coming from the new group in Scotland, those scrambling to save the ship from a watery grave have renewed hope. Save the Falls of Clyde-International has received support from Scottish actor Brian Cox, CBE, (a veteran of the Royal Shakespeare Company, best known in the US for his roles in The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Supremacy, Braveheart, and Doctor Who), among other notable figures. Mr. Cox has agreed to be the group's official patron. According to David O'Neill, the campaign coordinator for the Scotland-based group, "Glasgow City College, Riverside Campus, and the world-renowned Glasgow Nautical College have joined the campaign to save the Falls of Clyde. Additionally, Fair Transport Europe and Clyde Maritime Trust have also endorsed the campaign to return her to Scotland. The college is setting up a Technical and Media Committee, for the purpose of raising the funds needed to transport the ship home to Scotland, and is looking at the logistics that will require." Save the Falls of Clyde is lobbying for government support (both in Scotland and in Hawaii), in addition to seeking the cooperation and support of mil itary and commercial shipyards. They are active on social media, hoping to gain more awareness and support from the public on both sides of the pond. They are appealing to commercial shipping companies to assist in getting the ship from Hawaii to Scotland, and will consider any offers; the group has put out a request to ports around the United States to offer safe harbor, should they be able to arrange for one company to take the ship on one leg, and another to transport her on the next. The ultimate goal is to keep the ship from being scuttled by the State of Hawaii and get her home to Scotland, where they would like to create a tall ship center to celebrate and preserve the rich shipbuilding heritage in Glasgow. Save the Falls of Clyde-International is on Facebook at www.facebook.com/savefallsofclyde/ and on Twitter at Save Falls ofClyde. J,
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