Ten Year Retrospective: Leaving the “Ghost Fleet”

October 27-28, 2021 marked the ten year anniversary of our team freeing Battleship IOWA from her anchorage in the Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet.

COO Mike Getscher took time this week to reflect on little known aspects of what was required to accomplish that epic towing evolution. First, he discussed the fascinating challenges with the bathymetry in that area of San Francisco Bay. 

In today’s installation he presents an in-depth look at the tow itself, including the night spent at the Benicia car dock, where the ship groaned and banged and creaked as she began to awaken from a ten-year sleep in the so-called “ghost fleet.” It’s an incredible perspective that has rarely been shared.

Click the photo below for the video.

Halloween is this weekend

Are you ready for some trick-or-treating? We sure are! 

Thanks to a generous donation from Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, we are overflowing with goodies for our Halloween STEMebration.

Come in costume and trick-or-treat at our candy stations, play carnival games to collect Halloween Vicky the Dog stickers, and apply fun science concepts while building your own light-up wand, flying a spooky kite, and launching a spider rocket! The family-friendly Halloween movie, Hotel Transylvania, will be playing on the media wall at the stern of the ship and IOWA crew members will be sharing spooky story books throughout the night.

Battleship IOWA’s Halloween STEMebration will take place Saturday, October 30th from 6pm – 10pm. We’ll see you here!

This Week, Your Battleship Crew…

Put on an absolutely tremendous display of teamwork to pull off our inaugural Freedom of the Seas event. Tables were placed, chairs were added, wine and sodas were chilled, caterers were directed, lights and audio were set, curtains were rigged, and the myriad other details were arranged with hustle, laughter, and good spirits.

We couldn’t be more proud of this premiere effort for the first gala on behalf of the National Museum of the Surface Navy at Battleship IOWA.

Want to see how it all turned out? Take a look at CEO Jonathan Williams’ recap from earlier this week and watch highlights on our Facebook and Instagram pages, including the speeches by each of our honorees:

• Gravely Award winner Admiral Michelle Howard
• Humanitarian Service Award winner LA Mayor Eric Garcetti
• Global Communications Award winner UPS (accepted by Vice President of State Government Affairs, Bruce DD MacRae)
• Freedom of the Seas Award winner Ambassador Rob O’Brien (find part 2 here and part 3 here)

Months of work behind the scenes culminated in a memorable night. We’d like to give a special shout out to our tech team, whose efforts tend to fly under the radar. Thanks to David Canfield, Troy Vail, Forrest Hippensteel, Tom Marinello, and Michael Vulpillat for their incredible job setting up and running our cool new audio visual system.

Become A Plank Owner Today

Be a part of unforgettable nights like last Saturday and all that’s happening at the National Museum of the Surface Navy  Register to become a Plank Owner, and at the same time, memorialize your service or a loved one’s. One of our goals is to recognize as many surface navy sailors as possible, to pay tribute to their critical and imperative contributions to the fabric of our way of life.

As a Plank Owner, you receive special benefits – including perks in our Haze Gray points system (details coming soon), and recognition on our future Plank Owner listing.

Sign up today. It’s free!