MV Aurora (1955)
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MV ''Aurora'' is a
cruise ship Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports-of-call, where passengers may go on tours known as "s ...
built in Germany in 1955. After several changes of ownership and name, she is moored in
Stockton, California Stockton is a city in and the county seat of San Joaquin County, California, San Joaquin County in the Central Valley (California), Central Valley of the U.S. state of California. Stockton was founded by Carlos Maria Weber in 1849 after he acquir ...
, US, and undergoing restoration.


History


Launch and passenger service

''Aurora'' was launched as the ''Wappen von Hamburg'' for
HADAG The HADAG (full name HADAG Seetouristik und Fährdienst AG, literally "''HADAG Sea-tourism and Ferry service''") is a local public transport company in Hamburg, Germany. It owns and operates passengers ferries across the Elbe River, overseen by a ...
at
Blohm & Voss Blohm+Voss (B+V), also written historically as Blohm & Voss, Blohm und Voß etc., is a German shipbuilding and engineering company. Founded in Hamburg in 1877 to specialise in steel-hulled ships, its most famous product was the World War II battle ...
, intended to be used for day-long cruises from
Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...
to
Helgoland Heligoland (; german: Helgoland, ; Heligolandic Frisian: , , Mooring Frisian: , da, Helgoland) is a small archipelago in the North Sea. A part of the German state of Schleswig-Holstein since 1890, the islands were historically possessions ...
. Her maiden cruise in the
North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...
carried a full complement of 1,600 passengers.Kurtis Alexander
"Shipwrecked On Little Potato Slough"
''San Francisco Chronicle'', October 8, 2020.
Passengers were seated in salons and cafeterias on three decks, and enjoyed the view from galleries and sun decks. In the 1950s through -70s, this trip was a popular getaway, especially on weekends. Private cars were still not the norm, and a mini-cruise provided a change of scenery in comfort. Furthermore, visits to the Island of Helgoland were not possible before 1955. Until 1952, the island had been under UK administration and was used as a Royal Air Force and Royal Navy bombing target, completely devastating the infrastructure. Especially in the first years after starting to open for tourism again, many people were eager to see and visit the island for themselves that had been closed off for 20 years. Her cruising speed of 17.5 knots meant that the 90 nautical mile trip from Hamburg to Heligoland would take 5 hours. This made day trips from Hamburg less than practical, because visitors would only have maybe two or three hours on the island. Most guests would take the train from Hamburg to
Cuxhaven Cuxhaven (; ) is an independent town and seat of the Cuxhaven district, in Lower Saxony, Germany. The town includes the northernmost point of Lower Saxony. It is situated on the shore of the North Sea at the mouth of the Elbe River. Cuxhaven has ...
and only take the ship for the 36 nautical miles from that port to the island. Still, the schedule presented a challenge. Therefore, ''Wappen von Hamburg'' was replaced after only seven years of service by a second ship of the same name. Her replacement launched in 1962 made 21.5 knots, meaning that day trippers now could spend up to two hours more on the island holding the same departure times. In 1960, ''Wappen Von Hamburg''(1955) was sold to the Greek Nomikos Line. She was renamed ''Delos'' and refitted as one of the first luxury Aegean cruise ships, with the addition of a swimming pool and air conditioning in all cabins.Chris Willson and Peter Knego
Aurora Yacht News
Wordpress, August 26, 2012, retrieved October 11, 2020.
In 1967, the ship was sold to the Alaska Cruise Line (Westtours) of
Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
and renamed to ''Polar Star'' for expedition cruises in Alaskan waters, then in 1970 resold to West Cruise Lines of
Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...
and renamed to ''Pacific Star'' and then ''Polar Star'' for expedition cruises in the South Atlantic. In 1972 Donald L. Ferguson bought her, renamed her ''Xanadu'', and added antiques to her luxury fittings."M/S Wappen von Hamburg"
Faktaomfartyg.se, retrieved October 11, 2020 .


Post-cruising career

As the cruise industry began to fade, ''Xanadu'' was sold two further times and then in 1977 laid up and some of her fittings were auctioned. After repossession by a
Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
bank in Vancouver, she was sold in 1982 to Pan Aleutian Seafoods as a factory ship for crab, and in 1984 laid up again, in Tacoma. In 1985, a new owner renamed her again to ''Expex'' and moored her at
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
for trade show and exhibition use. A forty-foot
intermodal container An intermodal container, often called a shipping container, is a large standardized shipping container, designed and built for intermodal freight transport, meaning these containers can be used across different Mode of transport, modes of trans ...
was mounted on her stern. After this venture was unsuccessful, the ship was sold to Friendships, a Christian sect based in
Wilmington, California Wilmington is a neighborhood in the Harbor region of Los Angeles, California, covering . Featuring a heavy concentration of industry and the third-largest oil field in the continental United States, this neighborhood has a high percentage of Lat ...
, who renamed her ''Faithful''. They repainted her hull blue but instead of using her for relief work, housed converts on the ship until she was seized by the Coast Guard. Dr. James Mitchell bought ''Faithful'' from Friendships to use as a hospital ship, but in 2005 the ''Faithful'', which by now had rusting metal, fading and peeled paint, and missing railings, to Al Boraq Aviation, who planned to refurbish her as a luxury yacht and had her towed to
Alameda An alameda is a Avenue (landscape), street or path lined with trees () and may refer to: Places Canada *Alameda, Saskatchewan, town in Saskatchewan **Grant Devine Dam, formerly ''Alameda Dam'', a dam and reservoir in southern Saskatchewan Chile ...
. This refurbishment did not materialize; she was declared an abandoned vessel and eventually an arrangement was made to have her removed. In 2010 the '' Life After People'' episode "Holiday Hell" featured the ship with an interview with maritime enthusiast Peter Knego coloumnist for Maritime Matters on her history and condition.


Refurbishment

After seeing a Craigslist ad in 2008, Chris Willson bought the ship from the then owner, a marine salvage dealer who had been ordered by the
California State Lands Commission The California State Lands Commission is a unit of state government that is responsible for management and protection of natural and cultural resources, as well as public access rights, on some of California's publicly owned lands. The members of ...
to move the ship from
Decker Island Decker Island is a small island in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River delta, in California. It is part of Solano County Solano County () is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 453,491. Th ...
, in the San Joaquin River delta, but could not afford to do so. Willson had her towed to Rio Vista, where restoration work began, and then a year later, in August 2010, renamed ''Aurora'', to Pier 38 in San Francisco, with plans to eventually open her as a tourist attraction. The following year, a Port of San Francisco
wharfinger Wharfinger (pronounced ''wor-fin-jer)'' is an archaic term for a person who is the keeper or owner of a wharf. The wharfinger takes custody of and is responsible for goods delivered to the wharf, typically has an office on the wharf or dock, and ...
gave him three days' notice to move ''Aurora'' because Pier 38 was to be shut down due to structural and electrical issues. ''Aurora'' was ultimately towed from San Francisco back to the delta in 2012 and moored at a marina in Little Potato Slough, approximately 15 miles from
Stockton Stockton may refer to: Places Australia * Stockton, New South Wales * Stockton, Queensland, a locality in the Cassowary Coast Region New Zealand *Stockton, New Zealand United Kingdom *Stockton, Cheshire *Stockton, Norfolk *Stockton, Chirbu ...
.George Schneider
"AURORA - IMO 5088227"
at Stockton, ''Shipspotting'', arch 22, 2015 April 16, 2015.
Soon after, the marina went out of business over debts and regulatory problems, so Willson and his partner moved to the ship to watch over it. he is working with volunteers to complete restoration of ''Aurora'', with plans to find a location that will host her as a tourist attraction.


In popular culture

The ship was an inspiration for '' The Love Boat'' and was used as a filming location for the 1963 film '' From Russia with Love''.


References


External links


Official websitearchived
on February 20, 2016
Christopher Wilson, "Aurora Restoration Project Part 1"
''Museum Ships'' (first of a series) {{DEFAULTSORT:Aurora (1955) Ocean liners Cruise ships Passenger ships of Germany Museum ships in San Francisco Museum ships in California 1955 ships