New England Steamship Foundation

CONTACT:

PO Box 2017
Oak Bluffs, MA 02557
508-999-1925
www.nobska.org

Robert A. Iadicicco, Treasurer

DESCRIPTION:

In 1975 the "Friends of Nobska" united to save from oblivion this last tall-stack operating coastal steamship. The S.S. NOBSKA had been launched in 1925 as one of three sister ships to serve Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket; at that time there were 4,000 steamships in the U.S.

Her two sister ships participated in the WWII Allies' landing at Normandy. NOBSKA served her islands until 1973, when she was sold to a Baltimore owner who converted her into a restaurant. The Friends group bought her in 1988, and in 1994 they arranged for her complete ($12 million) restoration by the Charlestown Navy yard, funded under the $200 billion Transportation Act.

She runs a historic daily round-trip route to the Vineyard and Nantucket for 5 months of each year. On the shoulder seasons she cruises short coastal legs from Maine to the Carolinas. Winters she berths in an urban harbor, as a conference center. NOBSKA is a working museum. Passengers see, hear, smell and feel her great 4-cylinder engine at work, learn the history of steam power, of steamships and the coastal trade; participate in hands-on inquiry, and steer the vessel itself. Your dollars will help develop her educational programs.

(1998: CULTURE: Education: Informal: Historic Preservation)