November 9, 2026 4:04pm
I got up at 3:00 this morning to drive to Mobile to board the Perdido Queen sternwheeler on the Mobile River where I witnessed the departure of the SS United States from the berth she's held for the past 20 months. She's being towed to a spot about 22 nautical miles off the coast of Destin, Florida where she'll be sunk in 180 foot deep water in the Gulf of Mexico to create the largest intentionally sunk artificial reef in the world. I'll be out in the Gulf this Thursday to view the sinking. And I will dive her at my earliest opportunity.
The safety & security perimeter for today's tow was enforced by the U.S. Coast Guard Cutters Daniel Tarr and Barbara Mabrity. The Tarr is a 154' Sentinel-class cutter. The Barbara Mabrity is a 175' buoy tender. As soon at the lines were thrown, we could not get closer to the luxury liner than the Coast Guard vessels. She was towed stern-first until just past Choctaw Point at the mouth of the Mobile River. The she was rotated 180 degrees to be towed bow first out to her final resting place in the Gulf.
Noticeably absent from the ship were her two six-story funnels. They were removed in August 2025. Because the top of the reef must be at least 55 feet below the surface of the Gulf, if those funnels remained intact, the tops of those funnels would be around that 55 foot depth, meaning the top of the upper deck would be about 120 feet deep. That is around the maximum depth for recreational divers. It would also mean less bottom time for divers to explore the ship because the deeper the dive, the less time can be spent underwater. With the top deck at 55 - 60 feet (she may settle a bit in the sandy bottom), divers will have plenty of time underwater to explore her.
I'll be back in Alabama tomorrow morning to see the two funnels and other artifacts from the ship that are destined for exhibit at the SS United States Museum that will be built somewhere near the coast of Okaloosa County, Florida. The exact location has not yet been determined.
The twenty-one best photos from today are in this Facebook album.