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The 130-foot schooner Western Union is docked in Key West harbor. Photo by Marc Averette. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license.

Western Union speeding toward becoming Fla. flagship

Tom Hoepf
Tom Hoepf
The 130-foot schooner Western Union is docked in Key West harbor. Photo by Marc Averette. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license.
The 130-foot schooner Western Union is docked in Key West harbor. Photo by Marc Averette. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) – The schooner Western Union is sailing toward being named Florida’s official state flagship.

The Florida Senate unanimously passed a bill (SB 326) on Wednesday that would give that designation to the 130-foot long ship.

The Western Union is based in Key West where it’s being turned into a floating museum.

Construction of the yellow pine and mahogany ship began in Grand Cayman, but it was completed in Key West in 1939. It served as a cable vessel for the Western Union Telegraph Co. for 34 years.

It later was put to work as a charter boat.

The bill next goes to the House, where similar legislation is pending.

Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

AP-WF-02-08-12 1530GMT

ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE

The 130-foot schooner Western Union is docked in Key West harbor. Photo by Marc Averette. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license.
The 130-foot schooner Western Union is docked in Key West harbor. Photo by Marc Averette. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license.