Uploaded November 2024 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
4) Fill in the blanks based on what you listen:
Born to support a world war. Redesigned as a world class cruise liner. And then a maritime training vessel. “The Texas Clipper” is now at her "final port of call".
Saved from being cut into scrap metal, it is soon to become an artificial reef, providing needed marine habitat, and quality fishing and scuba diving for the people of Texas. but, before there was a Texas Clipper, she was known as, the "Queens".
1944, the war is now going the way of the allies. There is a huge need to transport troops and weapons to the south pacific for the fight against Japan. Answering that need, is the Queens. She was destined to be a Texas ship from the beginning. Her hull was laid on
March 2, 1944, the anniversary of Texas independence day. The Queens carried 47 officers
and 512 enlisted men on its maiden voyage.
in 1947 the Queens was redesigned to carry both cargo and passengers by Henry Dreyfus, the man who designed the radium-dial alarm clock, the hoover upright and the rotary-dial telephone. This was to be a luxury ship with a country-club style. Renamed the Excambion,
it was one of the four aces, the first fully air-conditioned ships in the world. She embarked from New Jersey and traveled the Mediterranean on a six-week round-trip voyage. Fares started at $850.
“It was considered back in the 1950's, as one of the top of the line luxury ships. It had some of the most elaborate state rooms that existed at the time. One of the cargo holds that we know of now was used as an actual swimming pool. And some of the best service was found on that ship. The life was good and very comfortable aboard the Excambion, until the birth of
the transatlantic airplane. Now everyone wanted to fly and the Excambion found herself
out of business, but ready to move on to her next life, as the Texas Clipper.
The Texas maritime academy was now in command, making her an ocean going campus to train cadets for the American merchant marine. Texas A&M University at Galveston took over the training program and painted her maroon and white - the only one like it in the world.
Ships grow old and the sea stays forever young. In 1996, after 52 years of service, the clipper was retired - the oldest active ship in the entire American merchant marine.
After sitting and rusting for 10 years, the clipper was acquired by Texas Parks & Wildlife. It took a year to thoroughly clean the ship and prepare it as an artificial reef.
“We modified the hull for water circulation and diver access. Anything that could float off
the ship or cause a marine hazard has been removed. This by far exceeds the amount of effort that's gone into any one particular reefing project. We towed the vessel out of the harbor. It was just a sense of elation for a lot of people, especially people who had served on the Texas Clipper traveling the world”.
This last voyage was a short one, just 17 miles out from south Padre Island to her final home. She had not been on the open seas for over 12 years, but she did just fine and was ready the next morning. The final few holes were cut for circulation of water and sea life. The flood valves were opened. and the last man on board was recovered.
“We're watching the ship sink and at that point you realize that you've got a 7,000-ton piece of metal there. It is just a huge sight to behold and, it wants to do what it wants to do. Once we were watching this thing go down it was just very impressive, it was the largest thing I have seen happen and certainly the largest thing I've had the privilege of working on.
After 63 years of floating on the world's oceans, the Texas Clipper is now at her final port of call.
4) Fill in the blanks based on what you listen:
Born to support a world war. Redesigned as a world class cruise liner. And then a maritime training vessel. “The Texas Clipper” is now at her "final port of call".
Saved from being cut into scrap metal, it is soon to become an artificial reef, providing needed marine habitat, and quality fishing and scuba diving for the people of Texas. but, before there was a Texas Clipper, she was known as, the "Queens".
1944, the war is now going the way of the allies. There is a huge need to transport troops and weapons to the south pacific for the fight against Japan. Answering that need, is the Queens. She was destined to be a Texas ship from the beginning. Her hull was laid on
March 2, 1944, the anniversary of Texas independence day. The Queens carried 47 officers
and 512 enlisted men on its maiden voyage.
in 1947 the Queens was redesigned to carry both cargo and passengers by Henry Dreyfus, the man who designed the radium-dial alarm clock, the hoover upright and the rotary-dial telephone. This was to be a luxury ship with a country-club style. Renamed the Excambion,
it was one of the four aces, the first fully air-conditioned ships in the world. She embarked from New Jersey and traveled the Mediterranean on a six-week round-trip voyage. Fares started at $850.
“It was considered back in the 1950's, as one of the top of the line luxury ships. It had some of the most elaborate state rooms that existed at the time. One of the cargo holds that we know of now was used as an actual swimming pool. And some of the best service was found on that ship. The life was good and very comfortable aboard the Excambion, until the birth of
the transatlantic airplane. Now everyone wanted to fly and the Excambion found herself
out of business, but ready to move on to her next life, as the Texas Clipper.
The Texas maritime academy was now in command, making her an ocean going campus to train cadets for the American merchant marine. Texas A&M University at Galveston took over the training program and painted her maroon and white - the only one like it in the world.
Ships grow old and the sea stays forever young. In 1996, after 52 years of service, the clipper was retired - the oldest active ship in the entire American merchant marine.
After sitting and rusting for 10 years, the clipper was acquired by Texas Parks & Wildlife. It took a year to thoroughly clean the ship and prepare it as an artificial reef.
“We modified the hull for water circulation and diver access. Anything that could float off
the ship or cause a marine hazard has been removed. This by far exceeds the amount of effort that's gone into any one particular reefing project. We towed the vessel out of the harbor. It was just a sense of elation for a lot of people, especially people who had served on the Texas Clipper traveling the world”.
This last voyage was a short one, just 17 miles out from south Padre Island to her final home. She had not been on the open seas for over 12 years, but she did just fine and was ready the next morning. The final few holes were cut for circulation of water and sea life. The flood valves were opened. and the last man on board was recovered.
“We're watching the ship sink and at that point you realize that you've got a 7,000-ton piece of metal there. It is just a huge sight to behold and, it wants to do what it wants to do. Once we were watching this thing go down it was just very impressive, it was the largest thing I have seen happen and certainly the largest thing I've had the privilege of working on.
After 63 years of floating on the world's oceans, the Texas Clipper is now at her final port of call.
