Little Problem with New Bedford Lightship

Bob Trapiani of ALF sent this link to an article about the New Bedford Lightship. Not a good situation at all.

WHOA! How could they let that happen. What a shame.

Bob

Well the good news (if there is good news) is that at least it was berthed in a shallow area, hopefully It can be pulled upright and the have the water pumped out. Maybe a crane on a barge or crane ship, but it doesn't look deep enought for a ship right there.

What a shame! Solutions always seem all too easy but, apparently, they have known about the problem and were trying to deal with it. I guess the problem exacerbated to the point of no return - for now, anyway. Hope they get the funding (and quickly) which they have requested.

Dear all,

are there any news from New Bedford concerning the New Bedford lightship?

Kind regards
Iris

http://www.unc.edu/~rowlett/lighthouse/index.htm

Well according to one of my favorite lighthouse sites, she is on the auction block and probably headed to the scrap yard.

{url=http://www.unc.edu/~rowlett/lighthouse/news/ma_news.html#newbedford]Direct Link to the article[/url]

Not very encouraging. City leaders (or perhaps the city non-leaders) should all be ashamed of their incredibly poor stewardship of this historic property. Be interesting if someone was able to get a temporary injunction blocking the scrapping until items of historical significance could be salvaged. I suppose the city, which let the ship roll over at its berth, would argue that it wasn't safe for someone to be on the ship since it was on its side.....

What a shame - seems that there is no chance to do anything. Auction date is said to be the 26th of September 2006 - so I´ll cross my fingers for a "happy end".

Eric, which lighthouse is shown in your avatar? I cannot remember, that I ever have seen a black lantern...

Iris, that is the lantern room of Anclote Key Light, I believe.

Dave is correct here is a link to a page with a larger version of my avatar.

http://www.lighthousekeepers.com/forums/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=5;t=001039#000000

I hadn't seen those pictures - very cool, Eric!

It looks like the "NEW BEDFORD" is going up for auction on e-bay in December. See the latest at:

http://www.southcoasttoday.com/daily/11-06/11-17-06/15local.htm

The last mentioned article states: Discarded???? I sincerely hope that won't happen. They could at least donate the items to a museum, before they discard them!!!

What a shame this had to happen! Lets hope a suitable buyer will be found!!!!

Believe it or not, the New Bedford Lightship (LV114/WAL536) is for sale on eBay from December 5th until December 8th. Starting bid is 99,99 Dollars. I wish someone had the where-to-fore to secure this ship and see her made whole again.

New Bedford Lightship for sale on eBay

Someone will have to have bottomless pockets!
The poor thing is in a right state!
But what a project!! We will keep fingers crossed that she will be saved!

Kiss that baby good-bye. With most of the "Historic artifacts" removed the lightship will not do well on eBay. It would probably be cheaper to build a replica rather than try and restore that bucket of rust.

It is a sad case for sure, but that once proud vessel will end up as scrap and probably will go overseas in bits and return as new Honda, Kia, or another foreign vehicle.

:rolleyes: Bob :rolleyes:

I notice there was no mention of the fact that it has rolled and is now more of a salvage operation that just a tow.

In a wonderful show of government doublespeak they do state that the vessel is "considered unmaneuverable"

JJ, that's just the polite way to say that it barely floats on its own...

What a shame that they have let things sink to this level (what a choice of words..). They were given the lightship to maintain and share with the public, to help share that piece of history. They sure failed the public trust on this one. What makes it even more disappointing is that they apparently had offfers from groups to help with the ship and failed to accept the offers.

Why do people refuse help like that? Can anyone give me a logic reason?
It is SUCH a shame when historic items like this light ship, are lost because someone didn't want anyone else interfering.

The lightship was sold on eBay for only 1,775 Dollars to an unknown bidder. Has anyone heard more?

.. bet that is still less than scrap value

As I stated before, it would probably be cheaper to build a replica that to restore and maintain the current rusty vessel. I doubt the new owner has any real restoration plans. I forsee a dismantling and a trip to the scrap yard.

Yes, it is a dirty rotten shame but that's life as we know it today.

:rolleyes: Bob :rolleyes:

I think we all have to just face it that the New Bedford is not going to be with us much longer. It's beyond help, whether or not anyone wants to help. The next place you're going to see it is as part of your car.

As an ocean liner geek, I have to deal with this all the time. So many wonderful ships go off to the beaches of India and Pakistan to be turned into little metal rods 1" thick. They're just too expensive to keep around, so they're better off being cut up. Very few ships have any value after their useful life - there's even some doubt around us ship geeks about what to do with QE2 when she's retired, and she's probably the most famous and historic liner ever.

The New Bedford's really got no chance because of the repairs that would be required to just - please pardon the pun - get it in "ship shape." Face it, this thing SANK at one point. It's been neglected for decades. To get it even seaworthy enough to float on its own is going to be a challenge, and that's before thinking one iota about any kind of restoration.

I know how much it hurts to see this happening to one of our beloved lights, whether -house or -ship. And I know that it's even more of a blow because of the so few left in America, let alone the world (looking at Iris/LightshipFan's website, hands-down the best resource, you can see how few lightships there really are in the world, compared to the grand scheme of things).

But sometimes, it's just not worth it to repair it. Is it despicable that the Town of New Bedford didn't do anything about it all these years? Yeah. Is it sad that they turned down help and let it get into the shape it's in now? Yep. But is it worth the millions and millions it would probably take to restore it? Not really.

I personally think that the money that would be spent on the New Bedford could be much better spent restoring other, less basket-casey lights across America. There's a lot of lighthouses that aren't lost hopes, but still need money for essential repairs. I think it's better to send money there than on a lightship that's obviously worth more in a Chevy than as a historical object.

That's my 44 cents, adjusted for inflation.

Why spend the money to refloat it? Portsmouth and Huron are both on land, no threat of resinking there. Find a nice park, a volunteer group, some new paint and perhaps not the junk yard!

imho,
Sean

Like most towns and cities in "Taxachusetts" New Bedford does not want to get involved in financing any unnecessary projects. Taxpayers have been stretched so thin you can almost see through them.

Even if the lightship was put on solid ground, it won't stop the rusting and the considerable maintenance that would be required to keep it presentable. Then comes the liability issue.

Unfortunately, having sufficient volunteers to work on such a project doesn't guarantee a successful conclusion forever. People may be willing to give of themselves for awhile but then may later move on leaving someone holding the bag. The City of New Bedford does not want to become that "bag holder".

:rolleyes: Bob :rolleyes:

Seen on the waterfront in New Bedford, MA January 12, 2007 on the way to the NELL LHHC&Y on Cape Cod...



Judy

Nice picture Judy! Thanks for sharing it with us!!

At least its been righted again.

Nice shot Judy!

FYI: Its time to get the sensor cleaned. (see dust between the upper masts.)

Joe, I know. I tried to clean it on the road, but the more I worked with it, the worse it got. It's a new camera, and it was like something worked loose from the body and more like rubber than dust. I'm taking it back to Ritz and let them take a look and maybe clean it for me.

Murphy's Law was at work I guess.

Judy

Thanks for posting, Judy. See, the side trip was worthwhile and you were driving right past anyways.

Anyone have any news on the New Bedford lightship since the Ebay auction ended? It was really nice to see it standing upright at the dock last Friday.

Judy

Judy - dust or not, your photo of New Bedford LS showed it in a better state than I thought it was in. I thought it was auctioned as it lay on its side in the harbor.

John, I thought so too. Imagine the surprise of finding her upright! It was near darkness and impossible to get any closer, but the photos that were posted on Ebay told her sad state.

Judy

You were lucky you weren't taken prisoner by some of the local fisherman or wharf rats in that area. Things can be a little tough around the New Bedford waterfront.

It is good to see the "New Bedford LS" floating. Thanks for sharing the latest pic.

Bob

I wish I had bottomless pockets. I hate to see lightships and Lighthouses like that. My husband laughs at me because I act like they are living things that have feelings. I can't help it, they are a precious part of our history. I try to help here I can, but it just does not seem to be enough.
When I die my obituary is going to read: In lieu of flower, donations can be made to the following Lighthouse Groups (and I will have a list).

That.s a great idea, Cindi.
Maybe we could all leave our lighthouse collections to lighthouse groups or clubs to auction off, or sell, to raise money to help with
the repair of lighthouses.

I don't think this belongs here but Cindi's post
reminded me of something that happened when I was in Maine in October.
I had been in the Bar Harbor area lighthousing with some friends. On the way back my friends said they just had to show me something. They pulled into a monument company in Bangor and there displayed was a large monument (tombstone)
with a three-diminsional lighthouse attached to the side!