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The schooner Western Union docked in Key West harbor in 2006. Image by Marc Averette. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.

Key West group restores historic Western Union schooner

Tom Hoepf
Tom Hoepf

The schooner Western Union docked in Key West harbor in 2006. Image by Marc Averette. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
The schooner Western Union docked in Key West harbor in 2006. Image by Marc Averette. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
KEY WEST, Fla. (AP) – Key West residents celebrated on Saturday the restoration of a schooner believed to be the world’s only surviving sailing cable ship.

Full refurbishment of the 72-year-old, 130-foot Western Union cost $1.25 million and took more than three years to complete. It was spearheaded by a local organization formed to preserve the vessel and keep it home-ported in Key West, where it was originally assembled.

Launched in 1939, Western Union is a traditional American coasting schooner that served the Western Union Telegraph Co. for 35 years as a cable repair ship. Years later, it operated as a local tour vessel, but maintenance and renovation costs forced the previous owners, Historic Tours of America, to cease the ship’s operations.

Fearful the ship would leave, a group of locals formed the Schooner Western Union Preservation Society and Museum, and the owners agreed to donate the ship to the group as long as it was restored and remained in Key West.

The Monroe County Tourist Development Council contributed $405,000 and the Historic Foundation of the Florida Keys gave $300,000 for repairs. The rest of the funding came from donations from local residents and businesses, and a bank loan.

Key West Mayor Craig Cates, whose grandfather Cecil Cates worked as a mate on the vessel, presided over Saturday’s ceremonies.

“Our maritime history runs deep in Key West, so this is a special day for us and especially for my family, since my grandfather worked on the vessel,” said Cates. “They used to go out and pick up the cable, check it for leaks and repair it.”

Now listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Western Union is believed to be the world’s only surviving sailing cable ship, according to local maritime historians.

Restoration efforts included replacing numerous hull, transom and deck planks, and refitting all electric, plumbing, engine and steering mechanisms.

The Western Union now carries visitors on day sails, sunset cruises and charters.

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Online:

Schooner Western Union Preservation Society, http://www.schoonerwesternunion.org

Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

AP-WF-04-09-11 2135GMT

ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE

The schooner Western Union docked in Key West harbor in 2006. Image by Marc Averette. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
The schooner Western Union docked in Key West harbor in 2006. Image by Marc Averette. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.