SAIL UPDATE 1/23/2010

Got the following email concerning the sail:

Jim,

Hello again! I trust you are doing well.

See the attached document, which is mentioned below.

I want you to know that I have become part of a working group within the Mare Island Museum committee that is dealing with the 658 sail; John Chamberlin is the leader of our little group. Please consider me as your primary direct contact here regarding the sail.

I'd be interested in hearing about feedback you may have gotten from your crew since this question arose a month or two ago. Among other things, we are interested in ideas & suggestions you & your crewmembers have regarding what they would like to see done with the sail--and I mean in specific ways.

I have done some research into what has been done with other boomer and SSN sails, and have come to realize just how many there are, and also to appreciate the variety of ways they have been treated in terms of siting & installation. Some sails have been installed in simple ways, mounted on a concrete pad with various amounts of landscaping around them. Others have been incorporated into more elaborate installations--even VERY elaborate installations--involving full-scale simulations of the hull and the like.

I have put together a presentation that depicts some of these, but there are quite a number of others as well. They range from relatively simple treatments of the sails of the USS Hawkbill, USS Grayling, USS George Washington, to the more elaborate designs for the sails of the USS George Bancroft, USS Woodrow Wilson, and the USS Triton.

The committee here is looking at a choice between a very few sites/locations on Mare Island, but to me it seems that the site should be considered based on the nature of the design/installation that is desired.

If you have not done so, I would suggest that you survey your crewmembers on their thoughts & ideas on this matter.

Understand that from what I have seen of other submarine sails that are on display around the country, the cost (and therefore the fundraising challenge) rises with the elaborateness of the installation design. With donated services & volunteer work, a simple installation on a concrete pad could probably be done for less than--perhaps MUCH LESS than--$100,000. An elaborate design involving a hull mock-up or other elaborateness or large size could get you well into the 6-figure range.

My personal idea for the 658 sail: to site it in a relatively OPEN area that is located at a main intersection on Mare Island, to serve as a key landmark and to represent a hint of the history represented here. An elaborate design involving a mockup of the boat's hull, for example, as is seen with the USS Woodrow Wilson or the USS George Bancroft, is NOT something I would recommend.

But I would suggest one unusual touch. You may recall from photos of the launching of the 658 that the yard workers decorated the sail with a huge pancho & sombrero that were hung on the sail. I would suggest that they be recreated, to be placed on the sail only for special occasions & ceremonies that may take place in the future.

Anyway, Jim, I leave this to you to consider. Please let me know your thoughts on this, and what you can glean from your crew about their wishes & thoughts about it.

Regards,

Chris Rasmussen
Mare Island

PDF Of Presentation

Satellite Shots of Railroad Avenue and G Street

Shot 1 Shot 2

My Response:

Chris,
I sent out the mass email and posted the info on our home page. I received 200+ responses. The consensus is as expected, a park like setting with benches and paths. Plaques that tell about the boats history, Cold War history and recognition of the plank owners. There were other more far reaching ideas ie.: Make her a large weather vane, rotating on an axis, set her upon a complete upper deck with the control room built beneath seeing as we still have the BCP, the helm etc etc. There was bit of division over access. Fear of graffiti and vandalism drove some concern. Others want access to include the ability to climb inside and up to the top.
One repetitive question I got was : "Where is the site located?" Looks like your email and pdf presentation may help others to make decisions. If the final location is on Mare Island will that mean limited access for everyone? Several shipmates have made the trek to see her only to be disappointed by not being able to touch her. That touch is important to those that sailed her, she needs to be accessible in that capacity at a minimum.

I am posting your email and pdf, my response and satellite shots of the proposed locations on our web page. Let's see what kind of response we get.
Respectfully
Jim Carter
SSBN 658 Web Master

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