The news just said that the Kalakala’s new owner is “thinking about sinking” the historic ferry. The owner, Steven Rodrigues, says that unless he can raise $500,000 he may cut his losses and scuttle her in Neah Bay.
There are a lot of divers in Puget Sound, and I’m sure they’d like to have another wreck to dive. I get the impression (bing new to the area) that most of wrecks are up north. (I dove HMCS Saskatchewan a couple of weeks ago, and there are artificial reef societies in BC.)
But a frigate like Saskatchewan is one thing; sinking an historical ship – a one-of-a-kind treasure – seems wrong to me.
Sounds like an important piece of local and maritime history to me, and deserving of a new life as a museum. Else, why would we keep any old ship around? Queen Mary, for example, makes a much better tourist attraction as a hotel and museum than she would as a wreck-diving destination.
But then, I love old vessels. I’ve been to some meetings to save the 1940s fishing boat Dakota, and I’m horrified by the condition of Jacques Cousteau’s Calypso. There’s a 108-foot iron-hulled yacht in Blaine Harbor. Built in 1893 in San Francisco, El Primero has been host to several U.S. Presidents. She’s rotting at her mooring.
I moved up here in 98, and at that time the Kalakala was recently repurchased. for about a month and a half, every leading news story on the news was “HERE COMES THE KALAKA!” or “THE KALAKALA IS COMING HOME” week afte rweek. I mean even before important news. It was driving me nuts.
THen it gets here and just sits at a dock forever just rotting away… no one doing enything to it.
Just sink the damn thing. I am sick of hearing about it.
As illustrious and beautiful as her design is, she’s certainly spent much more of her life as a white elephant than anything else. Perhaps sinking her will revive more sustained interest than she ever attained while floating (or semi-floating when she was a cannery…).
I’m a big fan of historic ships. I remember visits to the Constitution, the Massachusetts, the Olympia and many others fondly. I’m a bit torn on this one, though.
On the one hand, if the Kalakala is sunk or broken up, it eliminates the possibility that people in the future will be able to visit her. The resource is gone, and pictures can only do so much. It should be noted that all of the vessels I named were faced with destruction after their perceived usable service ended, but were saved.
On the other hand, this one does not seem that “worthy” of preservation. It’s more a reflection of Art Deco aesthetic than a historic vessel. Its home seems to lie more in the direction of a museum of industrial design than a museum of maritime history. There was an attempt to save it, but the people didn’t support it. As a dive site, it might at least it may have some value.
This poor boat has had such a sad history. Left for decades, sort of rescued several times, and still not restored in the least. I’d love to see her being put to some use, but I hope that isn’t as a diving wreck.
I think that Rodrigues is just using the Oral Roberts’ He-will-call-me-home technique: threaten your supporters with the end of the project, and they’ll find the money somewhere.
If he does scuttle it, he should donate it to the Edmonds Underwater Park, which is, after all, next to a ferry dock.
Good riddance, I say. That thing is an eyesore and would take way too much money to ever restore properly. I mean it was a fish cannery for a good part of it’s life! No smart investor is going to put any money into that thing.
Hey! maybe Steven Rodrigues could join our white elephant exchange! He certainly has one.
The Kalakala was an experiment. She produced harmonic vibrations that made her hard to handle, as well as being no picnic for her passengers.
She was a pretty, art deco princess, but not any more. Let her die with dignity MHO
As for El Primero, she’s apparently been sold. The photo shows that her bowsprit has been knocked off. Let’s hope the new owner makes her seaworthy again!
If there’s no funding to place the Kalakala in a museum, make her seaworthy and useful again or sink her. Sink her with a solemn ceremony and fond farewells of champagne and flowers, but sink her.
Makes you wonder how much of it has been destroyed since then.
It’s a tougher sell than a lot of historical eras. It tends to be made with excellent artisanship and non-permanent materials, making it difficult to preserve and damn near impossible to replicate. It tends to have a pop feel, which makes art and design scholars turn up their noses, and it’s still recent enough that people aren’t totally convinced it’s culturally important.
There may also be some well-disguised bigotry at work here. Deco design is sometimes spoken of as “garish” or “campy,” a fake-nice way of suggesting that most of its serious specialists are either Jewish or gay.
