Author Topic: Patriots Point - this is SCARY!  (Read 8645 times)

Offline Lance Dean

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Patriots Point - this is SCARY!
« on: July 26, 2009, 11:38:41 PM »
http://www.postandcourier.com/news/2009/may/24/sink_yorktown_bring_another_ship83462/

Sink the Yorktown and bring in another ship
By Ken Burger (Contact)
The Post and Courier
Sunday, May 24, 2009

This will be an unpopular position, especially on Memorial Day Weekend, but one that must be considered.

Faced with insurmountable costs of preserving the aging fleet of World War II ships displayed at the Patriots Point Naval and Maritime Museum in Mount Pleasant, perhaps it's time to consider a proper burial at sea for the aircraft carrier Yorktown and the failing fleet that makes up the popular exhibit.

While the venerable "Fighting Lady" has been part of the skyline of Charleston Harbor since 1975, ships of that era are well past their prime and will continue to cost enormous sums of money to maintain.

Built to survive a great world war and maybe a few years beyond, these craft have been the epicenter of the tourism boom that helped make Charleston the destination city it is today.

But with all due respect to the Greatest Generation, it may be time to retire these icons and consider an alternative plan.


Time and tide

Experts recently estimated it would take $64 million to repair the four warships berthed along the banks of the Cooper River. That's a lot of money the state authority does not have and probably cannot raise from ticket sales, which are in decline.

The exhibit includes the aircraft carrier Yorktown, the destroyer Laffey, the submarine Clamagore and the Coast Guard cutter Ingham.

All seemed like good ideas at the time they were moored in the pluff mud and put on display. Time and tide, however, have turned them into rusting hulks.

Patriots Point officials, therefore, are mired in a deepening dilemma about what to do, saying a new financial model is desperately needed to support the exhibits.

While this idea will be perceived as blasphemous in some circles, perhaps it is time to sink these ships and bring in other attractions.

What about a decommissioned, modern-day nuclear aircraft carrier? Surely the U.S. Navy could provide a decommissioned replacement every quarter-century that could serve as a replacement.

Such a ship would reinvigorate interest and still house aircraft from the past as well as the Medal of Honor Museum and other important exhibits.

Then, every 25 years or so, haul that one off to a watery grave and bring in another ship.

That concept would maintain interest and theoretically cut down on what has become an eternal maintenance problem.


Right time

When posed with this possibility, interim executive director Dick Trammell predictably said he would not be in favor of ditching the current ships.

"Some things are worth protecting," he said.

And he's probably right. History is important. But it's also expensive.

Keeping these ships in pristine condition in perpetuity just isn't financially feasible. And good intentions won't solve the problem these old ships present to the next generation and the one after that.

Fifty years from now, how much will it cost to keep these old boats afloat? The numbers would be staggering.

If nothing else, some uncomfortable ideas must be brought to the table. This may not be the right answer, but it is the right time.

Offline Mark Sarsfield

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Re: Patriots Point - this is SCARY!
« Reply #1 on: July 27, 2009, 09:41:06 AM »
I know it's in the back of the mind of every sub museum as to what their long-term preservation goals are going to be for the boats.  I think, eventually, they'll all end up in similar buildings as U-505.

Trying to keep something huge alive like a carrier has to be a daunting task.

Regards,
Mark Sarsfield
USS Batfish reenactor



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