Mar 15, 2017 -- Newsday: Tending to a giant liner’s grand history

Courtesy of Heather Walsh/Newsday.

This excellent profile of Robert Sturm, former SS United States engineer and author of the book SS United States: The View From Down Below, explores his decades-long fascination with the Big U.

“The ship is the epitome of American genius when it comes to naval architecture and marine engineering, both in design and construction and in operation,” Sturm told Newsday.

“It was truly a magnificent piece of work.”

Sturm spoke with reporter Bill Bleyer about his book -- available for purchase here -- in which he "details his knowledge about the ship gleaned during his 44 transatlantic voyages, from 1957 to 1959."

He also discussed his work as a volunteer archivist at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, organizing and cataloging boxes of documents and photographs the museum acquired when United States Lines was dissolved in 1992. Unsurprisingly, the files he lingers the longest over are those related to the Big U.

To read the profile in its entirety, click here.

Transmission 32: Patrick Restivo

I looked out the windows and saw nothing but gray. We were caught in the tail end of Hurricane Camille, a very chilling experience. I went up to the lounge because staying in my cabin made me more seasick. I felt that I might as well try to take my mind off my unsettled stomach. The lounge seemed enormous, perhaps even larger than usual since there were only a handful of passengers up there, maybe seven or eight of us. One gentleman at the bar was drinking scotch and milk – it did not sound very tasteful to me, but he said it helped with his ulcer. The rest of us were younger, all somewhere in our late teens and early twenties. Somebody played the piano and the rest of us drank and sang.As night came, or should I say, the next morning, the time to disembark drew near. We all went out on our way to get ready.-- Patrick Restivo, who sailed from Le Havre to New York on the SS United States in August of 1969

Mar 9, 2017 -- USA Today: Peek Inside the Last of the Great Ocean Liners

Created by veteran cruise writer, ship photographer, and Conservancy Advisory Council member Peter Knego, this fantastic virtual tour takes visitors inside four of the most iconic trans-Atlantic vessels, including (of course!) the SS United States. Knego includes both historical and current photos of "some of the most spectacular machines ever made for transportation."The tour of the SS United States -- "the largest, fastest, and arguably greatest American passenger ship ever built" -- begins at slide 27 and concludes at slide 51. Knego beautifully summarizes the current condition of ship when he says: "Peeling paint and superficial rust aside, the grace and beauty of the ship's architecture is unparalleled." He finishes by expressing his hope that there will ben more to the story of "one of the mightiest ships to ever grace the seas," a hope the Conservancy is working hard to make a reality.To view the tour, click here.