you're a nice jewish boy what are you doing with a big ship i don't know i don't know i
just uh there's no real answer for it i just i guess i just like the challenge
so
now
just
the 1920s and 30s were a golden age for ocean miner travel european shipping companies ruled
the transatlantic market with prestigious record-breaking shifts many of which became
household names in 1921 the failed united states male steamship company was consolidated to form
the united states lines the new company was co-founded by kermit roosevelt awesome name haver
and son of president theodore roosevelt their passenger fleet mainly consisted of german vessels
seized after world war one one of these ships was of autulon renamed the ss leviathan if you fudged
the numbers she was the largest ship in the world her conversions to an american liner were overseen
by william francis gibbs the project was the first major contract awarded to his newly formed firm
gabe's brothers incorporated later to be renamed gibbs and cox he oversaw the project with his
characteristic obsessive attention to detail but the leviathan ultimately proved unsuccessful with
passengers this was for one clear reason united states prohibition laws outlawed the sale of
alcohol on u.s registered vessels while the nearly identical cunard operated barangaria
and white starline operated majestic grindered popular reputations as luxurious party ships
the leviathan languished as a super fun dry ship gibbs however was proving more successful
designing a series of white hole liners for the pacific base matson lines and four smaller
vessels for the graceline gibbs work was popular and innovative and he yearned for the opportunity
to finally design his own super liner but the struggling united states lines was continuing
to accumulate debt and went through a series of ownership changes throughout the late 20s and 30s
despite these issues the line was heavily subsidized by the united states government
and the passage of the merchant marine act of 1936 provided the funding necessary to build
new passenger liners the leviathan was widely considered a financial disaster and conveniently
ignoring the whole dry ship snafu most felt that super liners were best left to the europeans
instead it was decided that the new ship would be a medium-sized cabin liner while her size and her
speed wouldn't turn any heads gibbs was determined to design a thoroughly modern ship that would test
out the innovative designs he hoped to one day incorporate into a super liner of his own the new
ship was the first to be built by the newly formed united states maritime commission she was to be
named s's america to commemorate what was seen as the rebirth of the u.s merchant marine fleet
gibbs and cox won the contract for the new liner to be built by the newport news shipbuilding and
dry dock company in virginia she was laid down on august 22nd 1938. in 1935 gibbs and an apprentice
snuck aboard the normandy in new york after her maiden voyage gibbs took meticulous notes
and incorporated many of the innovations he observed on the french liner in his new ship
her hole featured a flared bow with a slight bulb a concave forward section and an overhanging spoon
stern gibbs was obsessed with fire safety long before normandy met her fiery anne he
was fascinated by the challenge since childhood and the recent mortal castle disaster was fresh
on his mind he integrated several fire proofing features and used a fibrous particle board called
marinite to partition the ship's interiors we fondly know the material today as asbestos
she was one of very few liners at the time to have interiors designed by women
cox retained dorothy markwald and ann urkart to design the ship's 23 public rooms they steered
away from the art deco styles popular at the time and opted for what mark wall described as a simple
comfortable american style they incorporated light-toned woods and fabrics with metal accents
and ornamentation the designs were bright and inviting and proved deeply popular with passengers
as originally built the ship came in at 26 454 tons she was 723 feet long with a beam of 93 feet
she had 11 decks and could carry 1 202 passengers and 643 crew
she was powered by two double reduction geared steam turbines that produced 20 000 horsepower
and drove twin screw propellers that achieved a service speed of 22.5 knots the liner was
launched on august 31st 1939 and christened by eleanor roosevelt the nazis would invade poland
the next day swiftly making the america's intended european routes too dangerous
her maiden voyage took place on august 10 1940 beginning an awkward first year of service mainly
keeping in the relatively safe waters of the caribbean the united states was officially neutral
and to further protect the new ship her name and two giant american flags were painted on both
sides of her hole to keep her from being mistaken for a foreign liner with war all but inevitable
she was requisitioned by the united states navy on june 1 1941 to be used as a troop ship she
was renamed the uss west point and underwent conversions at the norfolk shipyards in virginia
she was modified to carry 7678 passengers and her first voyage transported german and italian
consulate workers back to europe she would prove to be a vital asset for the united states navy
transporting over 350 000 troops more than any other navy troop ship in world war ii
she traveled all over the world and earned several distinctions for her service
finally on february 22nd 1946 she was released from her troop caring service
and began the process of returning to her intended career as a luxury passenger liner
on november 10 1946 after a multi-million dollar restoration process the ss america
sailed into near harper finally ready to begin her long-delayed transatlantic career
she proved popular passengers who loved her bright beautifully decorated interiors and
graceful design she was widely considered the queen of the american merchant marine
but in 1952 she was joined by her much larger and faster running mate the ss united states despite
those advantages the ss america remained deeply popular some even preferring her over the larger
liner she continued sailing her transatlantic route through the early 1960s but after 1955 she
began sailing to tropical ports in bermuda and the caribbean but as time went on her popularity began
to wane as passengers increasingly opted to travel by air at the end of 1963 she was laid up bringing
her time with the united states lines to an end during her 18 years with the company she sailed
over 2.8 million nautical miles and carried over 500 000 passengers safely and reliably
on november 16 1964 she was sold to the greek owned chandras lines and renamed ss australis
the growing company was in the process of buying older ships to provide affordable travel on the
lucrative europe to australia immigration route she underwent an extensive refit to increase her
passenger capacity to 2258 an outdoor pool and air conditioning was added to make her more suitable
for hot climates and she was painted white with blue funnels sporting the lion's logo the greek
letter kai her maiden voyage with chandras left southampton on august 21 1965. like her united
states line's career these voyages were largely uneventful aside from a minor galley fire in 1970
in a minor collision with the australian aircraft carrier hmas melbourne in 1974. over 12 years she
completed 62 global voyages and transported over 300 000 people to their new lives but by 1977 she
was the last line of providing regular service from southampton to australia and new zealand
the liner was rapidly aging resulting in higher maintenance costs paired with rising fuel costs
and a drop in passenger demand due to newly introduced long-range flights the chandras lines
decided to bring her service to an end her final voyage left on november 18th 1977. she was laid up
a month later and this is where her career shifted from steady uneventful service to kind of a mess
why should people take a cruise to nowhere to nova
scotia on on the american it's a complete entertainment facility as you know we have
many many facilities in the ship that just one contained in entertainment palace uh
cruising is very popular there's uh more ships cruising today than ever before you're a nice
jewish boy what are you what what are you doing with a big ship i don't know i don't know i just
uh there's no real answer for it i just i guess i just like the challenge
uh it's just uh it's just fascinating i love it and i'm gonna make it the best ship in the world
usually when a cruise line buys an older ship they invest time and money into a refit to
bring her up to date but not venture lines who bought the ss america from chandras in 1978. the
american company owned by a group of travel agents purchased the liner with plans to offer cruises
from new york city to nowhere really the idea was to offer a luxurious break from sweltering new
york city summers which in theory isn't a terrible idea 1970s new york was apparently a bit of a hell
hole her inexperienced owners invested 2 million dollars into repairs on the ship but the nearly 40
year old liner's condition required significantly more work to bring her to an acceptable state
but rather than delay her first cruise the group heavily marketed the classic liner and changed
her name back to america to capitalize on her history they promised a glamorous two-day cruise
to nowhere at a rock bottom cost of 99 her first cruise was scheduled for june 30th 1978 and it was
well it was something as passengers boarded they were horrified by the deplorable state of the ship
here we go faulty plumbing left water stains on walls all over the ship and flooded many cabins
beds lacked sheets and some didn't even have mattresses some of the ship's toilets didn't
work there were piles of soiled linens laying in heaps all over the hallways and public spaces
the pool was open but full of bags of garbage the company also managed to screw up their tickets
leaving many passengers without assigned cabins they were left to aimlessly traverse the halls of
the ship guided only by the hordes of cockroaches and rats as the ship passed the statue of liberty
hundreds mashed around the purser's office and began chanting we want to get off and conditions
only deteriorated from there with some passengers getting into fist fights with crude demanding
may be allowed off the disgusting ship that one woman later described as a floating garbage can
they were eventually forced to return to the pier offloading 960 passengers the ship attempted a
second sailing later that day but those passengers also took one look around and said um hell no she
was forced to drop anchor near coney island where her shell doors were opened and people desperately
clamored their way down road ladders to waiting tugboats that ferry the 200 traumatized passengers
to the only slightly better staten island after the nightmare crews made headlines venture cruises
bravely admitted that they had quote goofed they gave it another shot this time offering a five-day
cruise to nova scotia a slight improvement over nowhere this one actually made it out of new york
but when she encountered heavy seas a water main fractured and backed up her toilets so
a [ __ ] cruise before the ship cruise passengers finally escaped when the ship limped its way into
halifax venture cruises admitted that once again they had goofed but this time they promised that
on her next cruise quote you will see a ship full of happy people aboard a great lady named
the ss america about to have the time of their lives aboard a tip-top vessel they did not
by now authorities had stepped in to prevent future hell cruises and would later charge the
line with deceptive advertising and business practices after an inspection by u.s public
health services the ship was given a 6 out of 100 with mounting fines and cancelled bookings
venture fell onto bankruptcy without ever operating a single successful voyage
the ss america was put up for auction and sold for one-fifth of what venture had paid for it
recognizing a sweet deal the ss america was actually purchased once again by the chandras line
they performed necessary repairs and were forced to remove her forward funnel which had
been corroded to the point where it couldn't be saved the quick fix left the ship with a slightly
awkward profile she was renamed the ssitalis and offered cruises in the eastern mediterranean
but her second chandras career was a short one though they restored her to an acceptable
condition the liner had suffered years of neglect and was in dire need of a major investment
if she was going to stay competitive in the now booming cruise industry but chandras wasn't ready
to make the necessary investment and the ship was sold in 1980. for the next decade and a half the
ss america's fate was left uncertain as she was bought and sold a number of times for a number
of different purposes plans were even considered to turn her into a prison ship at one point for
a brief period she was renamed the noga and then the alfredos although they didn't finish adding
the new name to her whole so technically only her port bow was the alfredos her stern and starboard
bow remained the noga in the late 1980s she was sold for scrap but when her buyer defaulted on
their payment the ship's fate was once again left in limbo finally in october 1992 a buyer stepped
in and purchased the liner with the intention of turning her into a floating hotel in thailand
an analysis of her hole showed that structurally she was in surprisingly good condition and she
was renamed the american star her propellers were removed and preparations were made to transport
the liner to thailand after a failed attempt a few days earlier she left greece undertow by a
ukrainian tug on december 31 1993 the challenging trip was scheduled to last 100 days but not long
into the voyage they encountered a violent storm that snapped her toe cables sending the unpowered
liner adrift crews boarded and attempted to attach an emergency line but this proved unsuccessful
and the crews had to be rescued by helicopter the american star was abandoned left to drift
until she finally hit a sand bar off the west coast of florida ventura in the canary islands
on january 18th 1994. the stricken liner was immediately pounded by the unrelenting surf any
hope of salvage was dashed when just 48 hours after beaching the battered liner broke in two
just after her aft funnel she was declared a total loss on july 6 1994. her wreck would remain a
bizarre photo opportunity for locals and tourists her stern portion collapsed in 1996 leaving her
towering front half looming for almost a decade until it too finally collapsed into the surf in
november of 2005. it was a sad and undignified end to what was once considered america's flagship
the ss america had a long and varied career transporting hundreds of thousands
all over the world she was in service for nearly half a century and was beloved by passengers she
also clearly served as an early blueprint for the ss united states but if we didn't have the
breathtaking images of waves crashing against her decrepit hole would anyone still give her
any attention maybe her iconic end in some small way saved her from the cruel indifference of time
you