This week, news that the Battleship New Jersey, a landmark on the Camden waterfront, is facing financial difficulties has Jay Lloyd recalling some getaways on other historic ship tours.
by KYW's Jay Lloyd
A historic ship doesn’t have to be a combat veteran, although many are. There are also whalers, lightships, liberty ships, tugs, tea ships, and even a royal yacht.
If there’s a port or major waterway, there’s a historic ship.
Within a day's drive of our area, I’ve stood on the quarterdecks of America’s earliest frigates, "Old Ironsides" in Boston and the Constellation in Baltimore.
Sharing Baltimore’s inner harbor is the Coast Guard cutter Taney, the last floating survivor of Pearl Harbor. Visitors to Baltimore can even arrange a cruise on the World War II liberty ship John Brown.
New York City is planning to reopen the Intrepid Museum Complex on November 8th, following the completion of major renovations to its centerpiece, the aircraft carrier Intrepid. That will set the stage for a dramatic Veterans Day celebration, three days later.
And when traveling overseas, the Scottish capital at Edinburgh is the backdrop for the permanent home of the royal yacht Brittania.
Then, on the Thames in a bustling London neighborhood, stop off to see a full-scale replica of Sir Francis Drake’s Golden Hind (photo above).
Further upriver at Greenwich, you’ll watch the rehabbing of the world’s most famous tea clipper, Cutty Sark. By the way, our British cousins have gathered about $63 million for that historic ship preservation.
(Photo by KYW's Jay Lloyd)