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Going from FS-289 Camano Class Light Cargo Ship for the US Army to a protector of Mother Earth is no small task! But that’s exactly what we’re currently trying to accomplish with the Sea Bird. While we’re working hard to convert the Sea Bird into a powerful, environmentally friendly, water-cleaning vessel, her progress can only fully be appreciated when you look at just how far she’s come.

While there may not immediately be anything that physically distinguishes this vessel from others in her class, she truly enjoys a rich history that saw her progress from an army vessel to a navy vessel and all the way up to her time as a fishing vessel. And to now be under development to feature stunning cutting-edge technology is simply astonishing to even us!

You’ve simply got to read through her history to truly understand why this precious vessel must be saved from being scrapped! You can look forward to learning more about the Sea Bird’s heroic involvement in the tragedy of the Texas Towers and much more. And make sure you check out our section on Mister Roberts—another shining part of the Sea Bird’s history.

We encourage you to be a part of this magical piece of the past and learn more about the Sea Bird and ride along with her as she sails through history.

	San Diego Dry Dock (part 2) With fear that the massive crane's two bands would not be enough to support the load of the Sea Bird, it was determined that a third band would be needed to lift the the ship out of the water.	Chris Conant
	San Diego Dry Dock In May of 2008, the Sea Bird Adventure was docked in the Seaport Village Marina.	Chris Conant
	Birth of the Texas Towers Birth of the Texas Towers During the Cold War, America began to feel concerned about protecting its vital locations, most of which are positioned along the east coast.	Andrew Rossillo
	Wheeler Shipbuilding Company The History of the Wheeler Shipbuilding Company In 1945, the Wheeler Shipbuilding Company in Whitestone, New York finished construction on a very special vessel that was later given the name the U.	Andrew Rossillo
	The Texas Towers Incident The Texas Towers Incident: Bravery Despite the Odds It is impossible to stop every tragedy, but there are those who will try even when it means risking their own safety.	Kris Land
	Lieutenant Thomas Heggen Lieutenant Thomas Heggen: Before Mister Roberts World War II was a trying time that impacted the lives of people all over the world.	Kris Land
	Mister Roberts in World War II Throughout the early months of 1945, Germany's position became more and more hopeless, as the invading Allied armies penetrated deeper into the country.	Kris Land
	USNS New Bedford, T-AKL-17 History It is doubtful that the Wheeler Shipbuilding company in Long Island, New York had any idea that the vessel they constructed in 1945 for the Army would enjoy such a long, vibrant life.	Kris Land
	New Bedford's Contribution to the Texas Towers Life in the military is not easy and comes with its risks.	Kris Land
	USNS New Bedford the Mister Roberts Ship Originally assigned the designation FS-289, the Sea Bird's construction by the Wheeler Shipbuilder Company in Whitestone, New York was finalized in 1945.	Kris Land
	New Bedford (IX 308/T-AKL-17) New Bedford was one of the Army's numerous coastal freighters of the WWII era.	Kris Land
	Lowering the Flag on the IX-308 KEYNOTES: Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division, Keyport Volume 30, November 18th, 1994, No 22 On Oct.	Kris Land
	External Web Sources for more Seabird History	Administrator

Breaking News

Bring out your Bike!

Summer unofficially begins in a week with Memorial Day and the solstice is on June 20th but no matter which day you chose to begin the season outdoor activities are likely involved. May is National Bike Month and the popularity of bicycling seems to have picked up speed in the last few years though some will claim it never really fell out of fashion. According to the United States Census Bureau over 38 million people like to ride their bikes but less than two percent of commuters use their bike (or other forms of transportation) to get to their place of employment. Friday was National...

National Safe Boating Week

“Lives can be saved by improving the knowledge and skills of recreational boaters,” said Virgil Chambers the executive director of National Safe Boating Council (NBSC) in a joint statement with NOAA. “Boaters can have fun and stay safe by wearing a life jacket, having the proper equipment onboard, knowing what the weather conditions will be, and abstaining from alcohol while boating.” NOAA noted that in 2011 the U.S. Coast Guard reported more than 4,000 boating accidents including 758 deaths. Seventy percent of the deaths were due to drowning and in that statistic eighty-four...

Don't Miss this Eclipse Tomorrow!

Tomorrow, unless a fog rolls in off the Pacific Ocean, an eclipse will be completely visible and partially visible in parts of California and portions of the Southwest. The annular eclipse is expected to be seen by residents in parts of Eastern Asia and partially visible in the North Pacific, North America and Greenland as well according to NASA. Sadly, vast swaths of the country won’t even sneak a peek- the poor East Coast is left out of this eclipse. During this annular eclipse the moon will not completely block out the sun but will cover most of it and leave a ring of light or...

Friday Creature Feature: Coal Turtle

There was once a turtle so large, they say it was the size of a Smart car and that if it had wanted it could have eaten a small crocodile. That’s what paleontologists from North Carolina State University have concluded in a paper recently published about the discovery of 60 million year old fossil they call Carbonemys. In 2005 Edward Cadena, a doctoral student from the university, discovered the turtle’s fossilized remains in a coal mine in present-day Colombia. It lived 5 million years after the dinosaurs disappeared and according to the article it lived amongst other giant...

Chicken Little May have had a Point After All

Why did the chicken cross the road? He was going to give you the answer but he didn’t think you were listening. Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology and the University of Georgia are studying “avian expressiveness” and they think all those squawking birds may be trying to tell us something. "Many poultry professionals swear they can walk into a grow-out house and tell whether a flock is happy or stressed just by listening to the birds vocalize," Wayne Daley, a principal research scientist from the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) told Rick Robinson from the...

Kris LandKris Land a San Diego Based Technology Entrepreneur has entered into a purchase agreement to purchase...Read more >>

Wolf BergerBerger, W.H., 2002. Climate history and the great geophysical experiment. In: G. Wefer, W. H. Berger,...Read more >>

Samina CabralSamina Cabral is a native Southern Californian who now resides on the shores of Lake Erie in Northeast...Read more >>

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GREEN LIVING TIPS

Hang Outside to Dry
Get a clothes line or rack to dry your cloths. Your clothes will last longer and you will save money

1944: Camano Class Light Cargo Ship was laid down for the US Army as FS-289 at Wheeler Shipbuilding in Whitestone, NY.

1945: Delivered to US Army.

1950: Acquired by the US Navy on July 1, 1950 and placed in service as USNS New Bedford (T-AKL-17).

1954: The movie, Mister Roberts, was made on the USNS New Bedford (T-AKL-17).

1955 - 1963: Used as a cargo supply ship for the Texas Towers, a network of advanced radar stations located off the Eastern Seaboard. In 1957, Capt. Sixto Mangual was commander of the AKL-17 and in 1961 it was rechristened the USNS New Bedford. The New Bedford, sailing out of State Pier, was keeping vigil when Texas Tower No. 4 callapsed off the New Jersey coast during a January 1961 nor'easter.

1963: Reclassified as Miscellaneous Unclassified (IX-308).

1971: The New Bedford (IX-308) served as a Torpedo Test Firing Vessel in the Puget Sound area.

1994: Ceremony in New Bedford.

1995: The ship was struck from the Naval Register on April 4.

2004: The Sea Bird's current disposition is a tuna long liner (fishing boat) out of San Diego, CA.

2006: Design of the Tesla Turbine began on June 11, 2006. The Sea Bird was sold by Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service for commercial service.

2007: The Sea Bird was drydocked for renovations.

2008: The Sea Bird setting sail to Sea-Tac in Seattle, WA.

2009 - 2010: The Sea Bird is currently docked at Seattle Sea-Tac.