Texas Clipper

Transcription

>> BORN TO SUPPORT A WORLD WAR. REDESIGNED AS A WORLD CLASS CRUISE LINER. AND THEN A MARITIME TRAINING VESSEL. THE TEXAS CLIPPER IS NOW AT HER "FINAL PORT OF CALL". (bell ringing) THE BELL CEREMONY SIGNALS THE LAST CHANGE OF WATCH FOR THE TEXAS CLIPPER, AS TEXAS PARKS & WILDLIFE DEPARTMENT TAKES FINAL COMMAND OF HER. SAVED FROM BEING CUT INTO SCRAP METAL, IT IS SOON TO BECOME AN ARTIFICIAL REEF, PROVIDING NEEDED MARINE HABITAT, AND QUALITY FISHING AND SCUBA DIVING FOR THE PEOPLE OF TEXAS. BUT, BEFORE THERE WAS A TEXAS CLIPPER, SHE WAS KNOWN AS, THE "QUEENS". (music) (war, battle) 1944. THE WAR IS NOW GOING THE WAY OF THE ALLIES. THERE IS A HUGE NEED TO TRANSPORT TROOPS AND WEAPONS TO THE SOUTH PACIFIC FOR THE FIGHT AGAINST JAPAN. ANSWERING THAT NEED IS THE QUEENS. SHE WAS DESTINED TO BE A TEXAS SHIP FROM THE BEGINNING. HER HULL WAS LAID ON MARCH 2, 1944, THE ANNIVERSARY OF TEXAS INDEPENDENCE DAY. (bottle breaking) THE QUEENS CARRIED 47 OFFICERS AND 512 ENLISTED MEN ON ITS MAIDEN VOYAGE. JOE EDWARDS WAS ONE OF THEM. >> I WAS 17 YEARS OLD AND JOINED THE NAVY. I WAS JUST COUNTRY, COUNTRY BOY. AND AFTER I TOOK THE BOOT TRAINING AND ALL THE HMM, WHEN I WENT ABOARD HER, IT JUST SEEMED LIKE A SECOND HOME TO ME. WE TRAVELED SO MUCH, DIFFERENT PLACES. THAT'S WHAT REALLY MADE IT INTERESTING. >> SHE LEFT NORFOLK, VIRGINIA, AND WENT STRAIGHT TO PEARL HARBOR, PICKING UP TROOPS AND SUPPLIES AND TRANSPORTING THEM TO ALL CORNERS OF THE PACIFIC. ONE OF THE FIRST PLACES THE QUEENS DELIVERED TROOPS WAS THE ISLAND OF IWO JIMA, SITE OF ONE OF THE BLOODIEST BATTLES OF THE PACIFIC WAR. JOE'S DUTY WAS TO PILOT A PERSONNEL TRANSPORT. >> THERE WERE SO MANY PEOPLE KILLED THERE THAT, THAT THEY JUST COULDN'T TAKE CARE OF EVERYTHING. AND, WHEN WE WAS UNLOADING YOU'D HAVE TO WATCH THAT, NOT TO HIT A BODY OR SOMETHING THAT WAS FLOATIN', THAT WAS STILL FLOATIN' AROUND THE EDGE OF IT. WE HAD THREE DOCTORS ABOARD OUR SHIP AND WE TOOK ON A LOT OF THE WOUNDED PEOPLE. AND, THEY BROUGHT THEM OUT AND THE DOCTORS HELPED WITH THE HOSPITAL SHIP THERE. (war, battle) IT TOOK THEM A LONG TIME TO GET THAT ISLAND STRAIGHT. >> THE QUEENS WAS COMMISSIONED NEAR THE WAR'S END, SO ONE OF ITS MOST MEMORABLE DUTIES WAS BRINGING THOUSANDS OF TROOPS HOME. WHEN SHE WAS DECOMMISSIONED, SHE QUICKLY MOVED TO HER NEXT LIFE, AS THE EXCAMBION. (music) IN 1947 THE QUEENS WAS REDESIGNED TO CARRY BOTH CARGO AND PASSENGERS BY HENRY DREYFUS, THE MAN WHO DESIGNED THE RADIUM-DIAL ALARM CLOCK, THE HOOVER UPRIGHT AND THE ROTARY-DIAL TELEPHONE. THIS WAS TO BE A LUXURY SHIP WITH A COUNTRY-CLUB STYLE. RENAMED THE EXCAMBION, IT WAS ONE OF THE FOUR ACES, THE FIRST FULLY AIR-CONDITIONED SHIPS IN THE WORLD. SHE EMBARKED FROM NEW JERSEY AND TRAVELED THE MEDITERRANEAN ON A SIX-WEEK ROUND-TRIP VOYAGE. FARES STARTED AT $850. >> IT WAS CONSIDERED BACK IN THE 1950'S AS ONE OF THE TOP OF THE LINE LUXURY SHIPS. IT HAD SOME OF THE MOST ELABORATE STATE ROOMS THAT EXISTED AT THE TIME. ONE OF THE CARGO HOLDS THAT WE KNOW OF NOW WAS USED AS AN ACTUAL SWIMMING POOL. AND SOME OF THE BEST SERVICE WAS FOUND ON THAT SHIP. >> LIFE WAS GOOD AND VERY COMFORTABLE ABOARD THE EXCAMBION, UNTIL THE BIRTH OF THE TRANS-ATLANTIC AIRPLANE. NOW EVERYONE WANTED TO FLY AND THE EXCAMBION FOUND HERSELF OUT OF BUSINESS, BUT READY TO MOVE ON TO HER NEXT LIFE, AS THE TEXAS CLIPPER. (music) THE TEXAS MARITIME ACADEMY WAS NOW IN COMMAND, MAKING HER AN OCEAN GOING CAMPUS TO TRAIN CADETS FOR THE AMERICAN MERCHANT MARINE. TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY AT GALVESTON TOOK OVER THE TRAINING PROGRAM AND PAINTED HER MAROON AND WHITE - THE ONLY ONE LIKE IT IN THE WORLD. ONE OF THE INSTRUCTORS ONBOARD WAS DR. STEPHEN CURLEY. >> FOR A DOZEN YEARS I SAILED ONBOARD THE SHIP AS AN ENGLISH TEACHER. AND FOR 10 WEEKS EACH SUMMER WE WENT OUT. AND I SUSPECT WHEN YOU ADD UP 10 WEEKS AND MULTIPLY IT BY 12 YEARS YOU HAVE AN AWFULLY LONG TIME, I WAS ONBOARD THAT SHIP PROBABLY LONGER THAN MOST OF THE NAVY PEOPLE WERE ONBOARD THE QUEENS. >> THE STUDENTS TOOK CLASSES AND WORKED HARD LEARNING HOW TO COMMAND AND CARE FOR THE SHIP, AND THEY TRAVELED THE WORLD WHILE DOING IT. THE TEXAS CLIPPER WENT ON 30 CRUISES, VISITING PORTS IN COUNTRIES SUCH AS URUGUAY, GREECE, PERU AND RUSSIA. >> THE QUEENS NEVER CROSSED THE EQUATOR. THE TEXAS CLIPPER CROSSED THE LINE FOUR TIMES AND EACH TIME THERE'S A CEREMONY WHEN YOU, YOU'D DO THINGS LIKE PUT SOME NOXIOUS ONIONS FROM THE GALLEY ON PEOPLE'S HAIR AND SHAVE THEM WITH A WOODEN RAZOR, AND THEN SPLASH SEA WATER ON THEM TO CLEANSE THEM. AND THEY WORKED REALLY, REALLY HARD BUT THERE WAS A SENSE OF FUN IN ADDITION TO THAT. >> IN 1988 ANN SANBORN, A FORMER CADET, BECAME CAPTAIN OF THE CLIPPER, MAKING HER THE FIRST-EVER WOMAN TO BE SKIPPER OF A DEEP SEA AMERICAN MERCHANT VESSEL. THE TEXAS CLIPPER WAS MORE THAN A SHIP, SHE WAS A TEACHER. (music) >> EVERY OUNCE OF THAT SHIP I LOVED. SHIPS ARE THE BIGGEST THINGS BUILT BY HUMAN BEINGS THAT MOVE. AND I THINK THEY MOVE, THEY TAKE CARE OF US, AND ULTIMATELY THEY MOVE US, IN MORE WAYS THAN ONE. >> SHIPS GROW OLD AND THE SEA STAYS FOREVER YOUNG. IN 1996, AFTER 52 YEARS OF SERVICE, THE CLIPPER WAS RETIRED - THE OLDEST ACTIVE SHIP IN THE ENTIRE AMERICAN MERCHANT MARINE. AFTER SITTING AND RUSTING FOR 10 YEARS, THE CLIPPER WAS ACQUIRED BY TEXAS PARKS & WILDLIFE. IT TOOK A YEAR TO THOROUGHLY CLEAN THE SHIP AND PREPARE IT AS AN ARTIFICIAL REEF. >> WE MODIFIED THE HULL FOR WATER CIRCULATION AND DIVER ACCESS. ANYTHING THAT COULD FLOAT OFF THE SHIP OR CAUSE A MARINE HAZARD HAS BEEN REMOVED. THIS BY FAR EXCEEDS THE AMOUNT OF EFFORT THAT'S GONE INTO ANY ONE PARTICULAR REEFING PROJECT. (helicopter) >> HAVING RECEIVED INSPECTIONS AND APPROVALS FROM THE U.S. MARITIME ADMINISTRATION AND THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY, THE CLIPPER WAS NOW READY FOR HER FINAL VOYAGE. >> WE TOWED THE VESSEL OUT OF THE HARBOR. IT WAS JUST A SENSE OF ELATION FOR A LOT OF PEOPLE, ESPECIALLY PEOPLE WHO HAD SERVED ON THE TEXAS CLIPPER TRAVELING THE WORLD. >> THIS LAST VOYAGE WAS A SHORT ONE, JUST 17 MILES OUT FROM SOUTH PADRE ISLAND TO HER FINAL HOME. SHE HAD NOT BEEN ON THE OPEN SEAS FOR OVER 12 YEARS, BUT SHE DID JUST FINE AND WAS READY THE NEXT MORNING. (big splash) ON NOVEMBER 17TH, THE ANCHOR WAS DROPPED AT THE LOCATION OF THE CLIPPER'S NEW HOME. THE FINAL FEW HOLES WERE CUT FOR CIRCULATION OF WATER AND SEA LIFE. THE FLOOD VALVES WERE OPENED. AND THE LAST MAN ONBOARD WAS RECOVERED. >> WE'RE WATCHING THE SHIP SINK AND AT THAT POINT YOU REALIZE THAT YOU'VE GOT A 7,000-TON PIECE OF METAL THERE. IT IS JUST A HUGE SIGHT TO BEHOLD AND, IT WANTS TO DO WHAT IT WANTS TO DO. ONCE WE WERE WATCHING THIS THING GO DOWN IT WAS JUST VERY IMPRESSIVE, IT WAS THE LARGEST THING I HAVE SEEN HAPPEN AND CERTAINLY THE LARGEST THING I'VE HAD THE PRIVILEGE OF WORKING ON. (music) >> AFTER 63 YEARS OF FLOATING ON THE WORLD'S OCEANS, THE TEXAS CLIPPER IS NOW AT HER FINAL PORT OF CALL. (underwater bubbles, music) >> THIS SHIP IS GOING TO BE HOME TO A NEW CREW, IT'S THE FLORA AND FAUNA UNDERNEATH THE WATER. IT'S JUST AS IT WAS OUR SHIP IT IS GOING TO BE THEIRS AS WELL. I SAY FAREWELL TEXAS CLIPPER, FAREWELL EXCAMBION, FAREWELL QUEENS. YOU DID ONE HECK OF A JOB AND YOU'RE STILL DOING IT. (bubbles)