As a boy in the 1970s, Michael Plant spent his weekends and summer days in Highlands, New Jersey, especially around the Highlands Marina where his uncle was the manager. Central to the marina was its bar, “The Bitter End,” and while Michael and his cousins were only old enough to play in the bar before it opened to the public, the room’s nautical collectibles - especially the big framed print of the SS United States - were enthralling for Michael.
One day, Michael asked my father, “What ship is this?” To which he replied, “That it was the SS United States, the fastest passenger ship ever built.” Michael’s father went on to tell him how, as as school boy in North Bergen, New Jersey, the teachers taken all the students out of class to watch the ship sail out of New York Harbor when she departed on some of her earliest voyages. He still marveled at how her paint gleamed that day, and at how amazed everyone was as she steamed by. He went on to tell Michael how, years later while stationed at U.S. Coast Guard Station Sandy Hook, the Coast Guardsmen witnessed America’s Flagship coming and going, sometimes escorting her to the Verrazano Narrows. For Michael, the picture immediate came to life.
Photo courtesy of Greg Shutters.
Fast forwarding several decades, Michael came across an photograph online of the Philadelphia IKEA parking lot, with “two enormous red, white, and blue funnels” in the background. He immediately recognized the Big U, and searched and learned that the SS United States was still afloat, nearby in Philadelphia. He also learned that the Conservancy was fighting to keep her afloat, and immediately joined the cause.
Coincidently, a colleague at the time was working as a photographer for Getty Images, and he asked Michael to accompany him on a trip to the ship to scout for photo opportunities. While they ultimately didn’t make the trip together, Michael visited his beloved SS United States, and found standing next to the Big U to be a humbling experience. Michael recalled being “shocked to learn from the nautical engineer that despite the peeling paint, the SS United States was structurally in better condition than some modern day cruise ships.” To Michael, the ship is still a modern marvel, as much a national treasure as the Statue of Liberty, The Gateway Arch, the Chrysler Building, the Golden Gate Bridge, and the Washington Monument.
What started from a picture behind a bar in the 1970s has grown into a lifelong passion. That lead to his writing “Ode to the Big U” for the Conservancy’s recent writing contest. As for that picture that started him on this journey, when his uncle left Highlands for Florida around 1980, and Michael asked him if he could have it.
Ode to the Big U
By Michael Plant
In Forty Nine
The U.S. Line
Requested Francis Gibbs
Build them a ship
Speed up the tripLeave all the rest behind
He didn’t wait
Nor hesitate
In Fifty went to work.
The die was cast
And in a flash
Built Hull Four Eighty Eight
For some of you
This stories new
So listen and you’ll find
Out how Big U
In Fifty Two
Made history with time
Her maiden trip this mighty ship
Set sail from Ambrose Light
Her Destination Bishop Rock
She’d have to race all night…..For there was a Queen
The years fourteen
Had held the fastest time.
It seemed no one could match her speed
Out on the foamy brine
And so eastbound with throttles down
They put her to the test
Not quite full steam
She passed that Queen
And took away her Crown!
The Blue Riband
Now in her hand
The people cheered and waved
And from the dock they looked in shock
At the time that she had shaved
Returning home across the blue
Westward she set sail
She blew the paint
Off of her bow
And also took the Hales
So heed this tale
Each word is true
Not one a falsity
Be proud of her
And help support
Big U’s Conservancy
They’re saving her
Maintaining her
And this is no small task
They need donations big and small
Although they seldom ask
So climb aboard! Come do your part!
There’s so much you can do
To help them save for years to come
The ship we call Big U.