The SS United States approached the last leg of its East Coast transit Wednesday, before its tow turns to the west and its next destination of Mobile, Ala., where the historic liner will be prepared for sinking in the coming months off Florida.
A tracking web page maintained by the Destin-Fort Walton Beach tourism center showed the tug Vinik No. 6 towing the United States off Miami late Wednesday. Captain Mike Vinik and his crew had pulled the 992’x101’ ship down the Delaware River toward the sea one week before.
The tow made rapid progress south, even when the nonprofit SS United States Conservancy historical group reported the vessels contended with a heavy following sea from a winter storm off Cape Hatteras, N.C.
“The tug boat crew report that once she gets moving, she's like a rocket, but handles like a dream regardless,” conservancy officials wrote on the group’s Facebook page Feb. 24.
“In addition, she seems to prefer a head sea versus a following sea and likes to get a little playful and headstrong in rough weather and high winds. For those of us who've read about how she behaved during her active service career, this comes as no surprise!”
