posted 10-28-2006 07:51 AM               

The Intrepid Museum is auctioning a truly historic day in our ship's fabled history. On November 6th, after 24 years at rest, Intrepid will sail again.* This time the ship will head to Bayonne, NJ, where she will be placed in dry dock for renovations. You and five guests will sail aboard and join this all-day, strictly VIP affair which starts with a star-studded breakfast, and ends with a thrilling helicopter ride off the deck of the ship once she passes the Statue of Liberty. *Intrepid will be traveling under tow the entire voyage.

posted 10-28-2006 08:15 AM               

To the sound of horns and the calling of orders, the aircraft carrier USS Intrepid will slip its moorings on its Hudson River berth on Nov. 6 and sail once again on the morning tide.

Not off to war this time, but just five nautical miles (nine killometers) down New York harbor to a dry dock, where the retired World War II veteran will spend two years undergoing what its owners call "refurbishment and restoration." It will be the ship's first voyage since it was saved from the scrap yard and turned into a museum in 1982.

alk about boxing up your things for a move. On the Intrepid, they are literally shrink wrapping airplanes.

It's all part of a plan to move the aircraft carrier to a new port to repair and refurbish it.

Before it's anchors away for the Intrepid's restoration project, there is some unfinished business.

Eric Boehm, aircraft restoration specialist: "By wrapping them up like this, something similar to what they do with large boats to transport them, we are hoping to preserve their appearance for the two years while we're closed."

posted 10-28-2006 10:21 AM               

They certainly butchered the name Grumman in that first article.

posted 11-05-2006 08:13 AM               

Our friend's band played two sets of rock-n-roll on the fantail while a thousand people of all ages viewed the Grumman and other planes on the massive flight deck and on the hanger deck, and climbed through the island and bridges as twilight descended upon New York. Hundreds of others filed through the Concorde on the old Saturn V first stage barge on the opposite side of the pier.

The Museum's greatest assets -- the veterans who now served as docents -- told stories and explained the ship as only crewmembers could do. The Hanger Deck containing the "Men of Intrepid" Memorial Hall, which remembered those who died while serving our country was very moving as was the "Heroes" exhibit, which featured the Iwo Jimo sculpture and biographies of the flag raisers. A multi-media movie recalling the heroism of the firefighters onboard the ship during the kamikaze raids was chilling. It seemed that so many who served during World War II were teenagers.

We went back up to the flight deck in the early evening darkness and heard three singers from The Metropolitan USO troupe perform on the fantail with the blackness of the Palisades Cliffs as their backdrop across the river. Then, from the middle of the Hudson River, a fireworks display lit up the sky, and from our perspective, also lit up the river. The mist and drizzle didn't dampen anyone's spirits.

As we climbed off the flight deck, I was able to show our children the ship's guns that a couple of friends and I helped to clean and prime paint on weekends in the early 1980's when the Intrepid was first brought to the pier.

We left the ship and passed through the Museum's gift shop, which featured "half price" signs and lines at the registers -- it looked like the Fortunoff's Christmas Department two days after Christmas.

posted 11-06-2006 09:57 AM               

After 24 years at the same Hudson River pier, the legendary aircraft carrier USS Intrepid was inched out of its berth by powerful tugboats on Monday -- but as the trip got underway the ship it got stuck in the mud as the tide went down.

The mission was scrubbed for the day at around 10:30 a.m., according to Dan Bender, a Coast Guard spokesman.

The Intrepid's giant propellers got stuck in the mud as the tugboats strained to move the behemoth. It eventually began inching backward out of its berth, but moved only a few feet.

"We knew it was not going to come out like a cruise ship," said Matt Woods, the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum's vice president for operations.

posted 11-06-2006 10:03 AM               

quote:

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Originally posted by RGW:
Hundreds of others filed through the Concorde on the old Saturn V first stage barge on the opposite side of the pier.

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posted 11-06-2006 01:04 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by John K. Rochester:
(AArgh!! That's twice today I've got to apologize for not reading your article first, Robert..)

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posted 12-06-2006 05:02 PM               

Intrepid Sails to Bayonne, NJ

The aircraft carrier Intrepid was successfully moved from Pier 86 to Bayonne, NJ. The Intrepid unfurled its gigantic American flag as she passed historic Ground Zero shore point as a silent tribute to those who lost their lives on September 11, 2001. Intrepid then proceeded past the Statue of Liberty on its way to Bayonne, NJ.

The World War II vessel will be refurbished over the next two years including opening now hidden areas of the ship to the public. While in dry dock, the outside of the ship will be repainted in classic battleship gray, and many of the military aircraft on its flight deck will be restored. Pier 86 will also be entirely rebuilt as well.

Live video of ongoing renovations to Pier 86 and Intrepid can now be viewed daily on www.intrepidmuseum.org through Earthcam.