David RochaReading Jef’s post below about the U.S.S. Saratoga reminded me of a piece that I had (somewhat) recently read in the Wall Street Journal and had been meaning to post about.
The Navy has apparently been looking to find a home for one of it’s top-secret vessels called the “Sea Shadow,” a totally stealth, sea-faring hunk of American badass.
This sexy piece of war-toy engineering is being eyed by none other than Frank Lennon, the owner of the russian sub that was once on display in our fine waters. Although it seems like a slim possibility that we’ll be seeing this in the river anytime soon (if ever). It’s a wonderful fantasy, and worth reading more about.
Read more about it at The Wall Street Journal.
Jef Nickerson
It looks evil, I love it.
The slim possibility of our acquiring the stealth vessel Sea Shadow and the associated Hughes Mining Barge is no longer quite so slim.
Thanks to our Wall Street Journal coverage, the Navy has agreed that the Barge may be used commercially as a floating drydock, so long as a non-profit ship museum (like us) acts as the lead agent in the acquisition of both vessels, and that any proceeds from the drydock go toward ensuring the public display of the Sea Shadow.
The idea would be for us to partner with a commercial shipyard to bring this marine-industry asset to Rhode Island. This drydock is 364 feet long, 106 feet wide, and can submerge to 65 feet to allow ships to sail in (overkill for sure!). The drydock’s normal surface draft is only 14 feet however, which means it could be based almost anywhere in Narragansett Bay,
The Star Wars appeal of Sea Shadow would be frosting on the cake, offering educational benefits as well as tourist appeal.
Besides, Sea Shadow is beautiful and awe-inspiring enough to deserve saving.
I screwed up our website URL. It should be saratogamuseum.org.
Sexy?? Toy? That thing is an eyesore. I hope it is recyclable.