lundi 17 février 2014
Fin de voyage pour le SS Santa Rosa, devenu Athinai
SS Santa Rosa a été conçu par Gibbs and Cox et porte déjà les marques de leurs futurs SS America et SS United States, ainsi des cheminées sans le sens du vent. Les parties communes sont toutes sur le pont promenade. La salle à manger est située entre les cheminées et son atrium couvre deux ponts et demi. Original pour l'époque, le toit rétractable permet des repas sous le ciel des Tropiques. Autre nouveauté, sociale celle-là, les stewards mâles ont été remplacés par des serveuses sur la Grace Line. Les premières bénéficiaient de bains privés.
Après la débandade de la Typaldos Lines en 1968, Athinai ne reprit jamais du service, néanmoins, cette star des paquebots fut encore utilisée en 1978 pour tourner Raise the Titanic (La Guerre des abîmes), film américain, de Jerry Jameson sorti en 1980, adaptation de Clive Cussler. L'histoire raconte comment, sur fond de Guerre froide, les États-Unis tentent de récupérer l'épave du paquebot Titanic supposée renfermer un métal rare et précieux (le byzanium, sic).
Jouissant d'un budget important et d'une distribution prestigieuse (Jason Robards, Richard Jordan, Anne Archer et Alec Guiness), le film fut célèbre comme l'un des plus grands échecs de l'histoire du cinéma américain.
Il retourna ensuite dans la baie de Faliro, près d'Athènes où il resta encore dix ans avant d'être démoli à Aliaga (Turquie).
Athinai would never return to active service. In 1978 she was towed out of layup to be used as a film set for Raise the Titanic. After a decade of neglect, and with fittings that did not appear to be out of place on a 1912 built ship, Athinai would need very little conversion work for filming the Titanic’s interiors. Her bows were painted to resemble Titanic and she was sprayed with concrete to simulate 68 years on the ocean floor. After the filming she was returned to at Faliron Bay. She would linger another ten years until finally, in 1989, she was towed off for scrapping at Aliaga in a purge of derelict shipping.
SS Santa Rosa fit son voyage inaugural pour la Grace Line le 26 novembre 1932. Son itinéraire côte à côte prenait 20 jours de New York à Seattle avec escales à San Francisco (2 jours) et Los Angeles (1 jour). Sa vitesse de 20 nœuds et son incomparable confort en faisaient le préféré des voyageurs aux dépends du service assuré par la Pacific Coast Shipping concurrente.
En 1936, il est mis fin au service et Santa Rosa et ses sisters-ships furent transférés sur les Caraïbes.
A l'entrée des Etats-Unis dans la Seconde Guerre mondiale, le paquebot est réquisitionné sous le nom de USAT Santa Rosa. Il effectuera 21 voyages entre 1942 et 1945 dont certains vers l'Europe, l'Australie, l'Inde et l'Afrique.
Après le Guerre, il est remis en état au Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company avant de retrouver la Grace Line et le service des Caraïbes le 7 février 1947. En 1958, après 26 ans de bons services, Santa Rosa est remplacé par un navire plus moderne auquel on donne son nom. Quant à lui, il reste à quai à Hoboken (New Jersey) jusqu'à 1961.
Il est renommé SS Athinai par le croisiériste grec Typaldos Lines. Il est remodelé pour accueillir plus de passagers répartis sur trois classes qui feront des croisières en Méditerranée, mer Noire et Baltique. En 1963, il est la fugitive vedette du film The Bullfighter Advances. En 1968, ses armateurs sont impliqués dans l'accident du SS Heraklion et condamnés pour homicide involontaire et négligence. Ce qui mène à la disparition de la compagnie. Ses bateaux sont vendus sauf deux, dont Athinai qui est abandonné dans la baie de Faliro, au sud d'Athènes.
 |
| SS Santa Rosa à New York croisant le ferry de Saten Island par Gerald Levey. |
SS Santa Rosa was designed by Gibbs and Cox, Santa Rosa bore some resemblance to his later ships, the SS America and SS United States – such as his signature winged funnel. The public rooms were all on the promenade deck. The dining room was located on this deck between the two funnels and had an atrium stretching up two and a half decks. Unique for its day was a retractable roof which allowed the passenger to dine under the tropical sky. The Grace Line also employed female waitresses instead of male stewards. All first class cabins were outside twin beds and private baths.
The Santa Rosa sailed on her maiden voyage on 26 November 1932. Her East-West coast route of New York-Seattle was 20 days and included a one day call in Los Angeles and two days in San Francisco. The ship’s service speed of 20 knots and her superior accommodations made her very popular compared to that offered by Pacific Coast shipping. In 1936 however the inter-coastal service ended and Santa Rosa and her sisters transferred to service to the Caribbean.
Upon the entry of the United States into World War II, the vessel was requisitioned by the US government for troop service. Even in wartime gray, the ship retained its elegant ocean-liner lines. Designated USAT Santa Rosa, she would make 21 voyages from the east coast of the US from 1942-1945: one to Europe, one to Australia, one to India, and three to Africa.
After her war service she underwent repair and refit at the Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company prior to redelivery to her owners. Santa Rosa returned to the Grace Line and resumed the Caribbean service on 7 February 1947. In 1958, after 26 years of service, Santa Rosa was replaced by a larger liner with the same name. The older ship would be laid up at Hoboken, NJ until 1961 when she was sold to Greek interests. Santa Rosa was renamed SS Athinai and began a new career as a cruise ship for the Typaldos Lines. A refit increased her accommodation and converted her to carry three classes of passengers. She entered service for her new owners for voyages in the Mediterranean, Black Sea and Adriatic. Athinai in her Typaldos Line livery appears briefly in a scene of the port of Piraeus, Greece, in the 1963 film The Bullfighter Advances. In 1968 the Typaldos Lines owners were arrested and the company disbanded after the Greek government investigation of the SS Heraklion incident found them guilty of manslaughter and negligence. The company’s ships were taken over and sold except for two, including SS Athinai, who attracted no buyers and were subsequently laid up at Faliron Bay.
 |
| Athinai à Faliron Bay, après le tournage du film Raise the Titanic. Curiosité, on distingue encore sur la coque le nom Titanic. |
Jouissant d'un budget important et d'une distribution prestigieuse (Jason Robards, Richard Jordan, Anne Archer et Alec Guiness), le film fut célèbre comme l'un des plus grands échecs de l'histoire du cinéma américain.
Il retourna ensuite dans la baie de Faliro, près d'Athènes où il resta encore dix ans avant d'être démoli à Aliaga (Turquie).
Athinai would never return to active service. In 1978 she was towed out of layup to be used as a film set for Raise the Titanic. After a decade of neglect, and with fittings that did not appear to be out of place on a 1912 built ship, Athinai would need very little conversion work for filming the Titanic’s interiors. Her bows were painted to resemble Titanic and she was sprayed with concrete to simulate 68 years on the ocean floor. After the filming she was returned to at Faliron Bay. She would linger another ten years until finally, in 1989, she was towed off for scrapping at Aliaga in a purge of derelict shipping.
Inscription à :
Articles (Atom)