THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, March 31, 1996 TAG: 9603280010
SECTION: COMMENTARY PAGE: J4 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Short : 33 lines
Some time ago, Norfolk City Council was proposing the purchase of a battleship to be moored at the Nauticus dock, an idea that seems to have died on the vine. Cost was one of the reasons, along with insufficient space to dock such a huge ship. Maintenance would have been an ever-increasing expense for such a ship to be properly opened to the public. This was an idea for the improvement of downtown that had merit but was not very well thought out.
We have in Norfolk a ship that could be bought at a lot less expense and would be a lot more logical for the limited space available at Nauticus. It would not require several tugs to place it in position, and the maintenance would be considerably less than that of a battleship. I am referring to the presidential yacht Sequoia, sitting at Norfolk Shipbuilding and Drydock. Could not Norfolk City Council see its way clear to investigate the possibility of obtaining this vessel, which carries much history within its hull, for a display at the Nauticus Maritime Center?
The ship sits within a shed rotting away and will be lost if not rescued from its present predicament. The federal government has shown no interest in returning the ship to its former glory; why not Norfolk, having this fine vessel for its citizens and tourists?
RAYMOND L. FIELDS
Norfolk, March 24, 1996 by CNB