Do You Want the BROWN to Visit Your Port?

he ship and her crew have long since proven their ability to voyage up and down the East Coast, meaning a whole list of possible port visits has developed. Let's go north: Philadelphia, New York, New London, Greenport, Boston, Portland. Or perhaps to the south: Wilmington, Charleston, Savannah, Brunswick, Jacksonville, Port Everglades, Miami. Or even into the Gulf - Tampa, Mobile, New Orleans, Houston, Galveston.

These are just some of the ports that might be candidates for a port visit. We are particularly interested in visiting ports where Liberty ships were built.

Here are some of the details necessary in order to have the JOHN W. BROWN visit your port: First of all, it takes a committee. Don't even consider trying to organize it by yourself. Our trip to Wilmington, North Carolina, was organized by a very large group of volunteers, Armed Guard and merchant marine veterans.

In the report on the Wilmington trip is a whole page of acknowledgements. Check it out. Your committee must be prepared to raise money. In most ports we would expect to conduct a day cruise but we cannot rely on profits from that cruise to fund the trip. There must be a commitment of funds to pay the cost of fuel and provisions. Profits from the day cruise are just that - pure profits for the continued restoration of the ship.

We burn a barrel (42 gallons) of fuel per mile. Check out the round trip distance from your port to Baltimore and multiply the miles by roughly $30, this being the approximate cost of a barrel of #2 diesel fuel. Provisions costs are about $7.50 per crew member per day. With a crew of 60, this adds up to about $450 per day. This is really pretty cheap. The ship steams about 250 miles per day and will probably be in your port for about a week, in addition to the steaming time to and from. It adds up.

We generally do not charge admission but put out a donation barrel and ask for donations of $5 per adult. Children, and adults who do not wish to contribute, may board the ship for free.

Since we generally do not pay for pilots, tugboats, line handlers, etc., you will have to make contact with these folks and ask for their help. Most likely the Master of the BROWN and one or two others from Baltimore will visit your port to meet with your committee and discuss the details, inspect the berth and talk to the Coast Guard. We need permission from the Coast Guard Captain of the Port to make the visit and to conduct the day cruise.

Of course, there must be an adequate berth with sufficient water, good bollards to secure the ship and electricity and fresh water. There should also be easy public access and nearby parking for large numbers of cars. Then there is publicity. Lots of it, announcing the planned visit, advertising cruise tickets and generally promoting the BROWN's call at the port. This is by no means all that has to be done but it gives you a pretty good idea. The toughest part of the whole thing will probably be the fund raising. Be creative. Perhaps you can produce a souvenir booklet for the visit and sell advertisements to local businesses. Talk to your local chapter of the Propeller Club for the names of individuals well-connected in the maritime industry. The ship can host receptions and parties.

All this planning takes, at the very minimum, six months, but a year would a safer bet. You and your committee will be kept very busy during that time, but the result will be an unforgettable experience as a World War II-era Liberty ship steams into your port. Living History! You will have the satisfaction of knowing that because of your efforts, thousands of people will have had the opportunity to see first-hand the kind of ship that formed the backbone of our wartime merchant marine - and to see it in full operating condition. Not only that, but you will give the gallant veterans of World War II - the merchant seamen and the men of the Naval Armed Guard - one more chance to walk the decks of a Liberty ship. The wartime shipyard workers who built the ships will come down in large numbers, remembering how it was back then, when they built ships faster than the enemy could sink them.

Call or write us if you think this is a project that you can tackle. We're ready to cast off the lines! Will the course be south or north?