JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Move! That! Ship!
The USS Orleck has been docked by the Main Street Bridge for over a year, but Monday it moves to its new home just a 1,000 yards down the river.
It’s not goodbye. It’s not even a see you later.
It’s just a small move down the road to the shipyards where The Jacksonville Fire Museum is located. The USS Orleck will dock at pier 1 for the foreseeable future.
Getting from here to there is quite the process.
The President of Jacksonville Historic Naval Ship Association Daniel Bean says getting the Orleck to Jacksonville in the first place was 12 years in the making.
"Bringing it here was really the monumental effort and monumental achievement," Bean said. "So she’s been here a year. She’s been extremely successful.”
More than 35,000 visitors, 5,000 students, 3 weddings, and more than 50 private events have taken place on the USS Orleck in a year. Let’s do it all over again at pier 1, but not so fast.
“Anytime you move a navy warship with 400 feet of steel, it is not a quick process," said Bean. "So there’s a ton of variables that go into it. You got to have the tides right. You got to have the sun right. You got to have the current correct.”
Three tug boats and a dockmaster are in charge of the move. The ship’s engines are cold, as Bean said, so it can’t maneuver itself.
“It’s a dangerous maneuver," he described.
The short trip will take about an hour and a half.
The move begins at 9:45 Monday morning and once docked, so begins the revitalization of pier 1. Bean says they’ve already invested half a million into getting the pier ready for this naval ship.
The Orleck will reopen possibly two weeks after the move, depending on if the platform is ready and set up. The platform is needed to allow visitors to safely access the ship.
First Coast News will be on board the USS Orleck as it takes its 1000 yard journey to its new home.