Scrapped months ago but the website is still promising her return to service...

http://www.nobska.org/index.htm

It's called, "leaving home and forgetting to turn out the lights."

They do have some plans to exhibit the engine and a few artifacts, but I suppose the group is still nursing a hangover.

Note the page's March 2006 update date.

Tom Cornillie

The part about the Vocational High School in New Bedford doing work on the engine was the subject of an article in the New Bedford Standard-Times way back around 1996. There were lots of pictures of childern inspecting parts of the engine, I suspect most of them have been out in the work force for almost a decade now. One thing I found very interesting about the demise of the SS NOBSKA was the lack of coverage or mention in the newspaper, which is located in what was supposed to have been the home port city. Of course this was just the latest in a long string of New Bedford based historic vessel projects that either abandoned the city of failed to make it there at all.

Mixdata,

You sure have that right!. Starting in the 1930s with the loss of the whalers Wanderer and Charles W. Morgan (in her case to a far off museum).

The Friends tryed to have the Nobska return to her one time home port.

Last month the Lightship#114 was allowed to roll over and sink in the harbor. Now the brass theives have turned this floating lighthouse into a total mess!

I guess New Bedford's maritime past is just too far away for today's population.

At least my old friend the Ernestina seems to be making a good home there!

Ted Miles

They tried to put the lightship up to auction but the city specified retention of most of the equipment that could be considered "artifacts" and wanted to put additional troublesome requirements on the potential purchaser, so there were no bids for the vessel. The details of this latest New Bedford fiasco can be found here:

http://www.southcoasttoday.com/daily/09 ... 1local.htm

There have been almost as many failed historic vessel projects in the "City of Progress" (New Bedford) as there have been failed plans for the future use of the retired power plant where the wrecked lightship is berthed. They used to call Cape Hatteras the "Graveyard of the Atlantic", but it looks like New Bedford a close second for historic vessels to meet the scrapper.

Of course after years of neglecting the vessel the city is now concerned about how much money they can get out of it as scrap.

Since we're talking about ships, has anyone heard anything current about the SS Catalina down in Ensanada? Most recent Website posting I can find for her is jan 0f 06, and while they seemed to be losing hope then, the ship was still sitting on the bottom.

Has the Mexican government finally cut it up?

Greg