The old USRC Bear just before she sank, with the tug “Irving Birch” in background.
The ship, that the U.S.C.G. calls “probably the most famous ship in the history of the Coast Guard”, sank on this day in 1963. The United States Revenue Cutter “Bear” served in Alaska waters for decades and had been the oldest US Navy ship to serve outside of the continental U.S. during WWII, had been lying derelict in various Nova Scotia harbors. In 1962, The Bear was purchased to become a floating restaurant in Philadelphia.
The Bear was being towed by a tug to Philadelphia in 1963, when a gale struck and the tow line was severed. The Bear’s mast collapsed, piercing the hull, and the great ship sank on March 19, 1963. Eighty-nine years after she was originally launched.
March 20th, 2014 at 11:40 PM
The “Bear” sunk just like “big blue” did today in St. Paul. I enjoy your postings on Circle to Circle.
March 21st, 2014 at 1:41 AM
I knew you’d be thrilled by that outcome.