Intrepid freed from mud, under way
POSTED: 8:44 a.m. EST, December 6, 2006
NEW YORK (AP) -- A month after a failed attempt to move the Intrepid, the historic aircraft carrier was freed Tuesday from the Hudson River anchorage where it had sat for nearly a quarter of a century.
"This old baby is moving," a joyous Intrepid Foundation President Bill White said aboard the vessel.
Some crew members cried and gave each other high-fives and hugs. Onlookers ashore cheered.
"It's like it used to be, only better. There's no bloodshed," said elated passenger Felix Novelli, who served on the Intrepid crew during World War II. "I'm 18 again. And I have my beautiful broad right here, my ship Intrepid."
As the Intrepid passed the World Trade Center site, about 20 former crew members unfurled a 50-feet by 90-feet American flag and stood in a silent salute.
The trip began with considerable effort, as the historic aircraft carrier-turned-museum inched haltingly away from its anchorage.
Finally, it began moving at about 3 to 4 knots, its pier growing more and more distant.
"Move baby, move baby!" the crew and passengers yelled. Then, "We did it, we did it!"
In the previous attempt, thick mud had proved too strong for six "tractor tugs" exerting some 30,000 horsepower.
A battle occured this time, too -- the blue water was churned dark brown as tugboats strained to inch the giant vessel away from its longtime home.
"If she doesn't move, we are going to jump in and push her," a former crew member, 84-year-old Joe Kobert, said on the Intrepid's deck before the behemoth began to move on Tuesday.
Asked later if he was glad he didn't have to push the ship, Cobert said, "We did push. All the crew members. How do you think we got out of there?"
Recalling his years on the ship, Cobert said, "It brings back memories. It was always thrilling when we were under way. We'd yell to everyone onshore, 'See Ya when we get back."'
The smaller boats moved the ship stern first into the center of the Hudson River, then nudged the bow until it was parallel with the shore and began heading downstream.
The carrier was being towed, still backward, down the river toward New York Harbor for a five-mile trip to a shipyard in Bayonne, New Jersey, where it will undergo renovations.
A Fire Department boat sailed alongside the Intrepid, shooting red, white and blue colored water from its hoses. River traffic resumed after being halted while the ship was pulling away from the pier.
On the first attempt, on November 6, the 36,000-ton carrier budged only a few feet before the propellers dug into the bottom, the tide dropped, and the mission was scrubbed.
Three weeks of dredging removed nearly 40,000 cubic yards of muck from under the ship and around its four giant screws. Based on an assessment by military engineers and tugboat operators, officials had said they expected a smooth departure for the 64-year-old World War II hero ship.
The Intrepid survived five Japanese kamikaze suicide plane attacks and lost 270 crew members in the last two years of the Pacific war. It later served off Korea and Vietnam and as a recovery ship for NASA astronauts.
Decommissioned in the late 1970s, it was destined for the salvage yard when rescued by New York developer Zachary Fisher and transformed into a floating military and space museum that opened in 1982, recently drawing upward of 700,000 visitors a year.
Intrepid officials said the $60 million overhaul, lasting up to two years, would include stem-to-stern "refurbishment and renovation" to repair deterioration and open up long-closed areas to the public.
The ship's exhibits were put in storage and most of its 20-plus vintage warplanes were shrink-wrapped for protection during the hiatus.
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