Latest news with #ChrisWillson
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Utah Man Who Bought Cruise Ship on Craigslist Mourns Its 'Horrible Death' After Spending 15 Years — and $1M — Trying to Restore It
A man from Utah who spent over $1 million restoring a cruise ship he purchased on Craigslist is speaking out about the vessel being demolished "It's probably one of the saddest things that I've had to witness in this lifetime…' Chris Willson, who sold the boat in October 2023, told CNN Travel Willson and his long-term partner, Jin Li, spent 15 years restoring the Aurora — a 293-foot vessel — after purchasing it online in 2008, PEOPLE previously reported A man from Utah who spent over $1 million restoring a cruise ship he bought on Craigslist before it started sinking is speaking out about the sad moment the vessel was demolished. As previously reported by PEOPLE, technology entrepreneur Chris Willson revealed in a September 2024 interview with CNN Travel that he and his long-term partner, Jin Li, spent 15 years restoring the Aurora — a 293-foot vessel — after purchasing it online in 2008. The ship — which was originally named the Wappen von Hamburg and inspired The Love Boat — was built by Germany after World War II. It featured 85 cabins, a swimming pool, and a theater and was featured in the 1963 film From Russia with Love. The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) announced in May of last year that the boat had begun to "sink in 13 feet of water and discharge pollution" in Little Potato Slough near Stockton. In December, USCG's Northern California X account confirmed a "dead ship tow" had been conducted and the vessel had been taken to nearby Mare Island. Stockton Community Relations Officer Connie Cochran has since told CNN that the vessel "is no more." Willson, who sold the boat in October 2023 after locals took issue with the dormant ship, told CNN Travel that seeing it demolished was, 'probably one of the saddest things that I've had to witness in this lifetime." He added, 'It's hard to watch 15 years of hard work just go to complete waste.' Cochran told the outlet in an email, 'It was towed to Mare Island, and as of April 9, 2025, the destruction of the Aurora was complete except for the final disposal of a few key pieces and material." Willson told CNN of his decision to sell the vessel nearly two years ago, 'Was I willing to go down with the ship? I mean, I would have worked on that ship my entire life." 'But once they threw a wrench in the works, that kind of ended it for me. I decided, no more," he added, per the publication, insisting he was grateful to have been able to keep it on the water for so long. 'I kept it safe for 15 years, and then I couldn't see any hope for me working on the project anymore. So I passed it on to someone else,' Willson, who wanted to turn the ship into a museum, told CNN. 'If I would have known it would have [gone] in this direction, I would have stuck it out,' he admitted to the outlet. 'But, I think it would have been sticking it out to my detriment.' Maritime historian and cruise writer, Peter Knego, told CNN last month of witnessing the ship's end, 'They're demolishing it with these cranes that go in and just grind up the steel,' calling it the 'safest' method. 'It's a really mean-looking, horrible death for the ship,' he added to the outlet. In a June 2024 statement shared on Instagram, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife's Office of Spill Prevention and Response said that contractors had 'removed an estimated 21,675 gallons of oily water, 3,193 gallons of hazardous waste, and five 25-yard bins of debris' from the ship. 'It really hurts that I couldn't jump back in there and save it,' Willson told CNN while discussing the ship eventually meeting its end. However, he said he had no regrets and "wouldn't trade the experience for anything." Willson, who previously documented the Aurora's "restoration project" on Instagram and YouTube, added to the outlet that there, 'were so many almosts with that ship." Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. 'We almost had the right people involved in order to save that ship for many, many more generations, but things fell through and we just kept waiting for the next one to happen," he said. He claimed the buyer who purchased the ship from him "seemed just as passionate about saving" the vessel as he was, per the outlet. While Willson didn't disclose the original cost of the vessel, he said in his previous CNN interview published in September that he was able to "work out a really good deal with the owner." Willson and Stockton Community Relations Officer Connie Cochran didn't immediately respond when contacted by PEOPLE for comment. Read the original article on People
Yahoo
14-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Craigslist Cruise Ship That Cost Man $1 Million And 15 Years Of His Life Is Now A Pile Of Scrap
I've got regrets man, I mean, who doesn't? I'll tell you who: the man who bought a derelict cruise ship, poured his money and energy into saving it, only for the ship to end up on the business end of a steel-eating crane. That is a downright impressive amount of folly to embrace. Chris Willson, who purchased the 294-foot Aurora on Craigslist of all places, says he has no regrets even after his beloved ship became a minor ecological disaster in a city that could ill afford the clean up. But the Aurora wasn't just a dream project of one very optimistic man. Thousands of people volunteered their time to save this ship and it's historic roots. It was the first significant ocean liner built by Germany following World War II. It appeared in a Bond film and served as a cruise ship for two decades before Willson took delivery. Now its been ground into nothing at a pier outside of Lind Marina, on Mare Island, California. Willson told CNN that his regrets lie, not with buying the massive money pit, but not seeing the rehabilitation of the Aurora through to the end. Read more: Nobody Does Land Yachts Like Cadillac, And These Are Five Of The Best Ones I know what you're thinking and no, this isn't the story of some weirdo Libertarian trying to create a lawless sea-based society. It seems Willson just really likes old ships. He bemoaned the state of historic ships in the U.S. to CNN and called the Aurora "one of the most historic on the planet," which might a bit of an overstatement due to his affection for the vessel. Still, the Aurora certainly has a fascinating providence. Built in 1955 and dubbed the Wappen von Hamburg, the ship served as the headquarters for the nefarious Spectre organization in the 1963 James Bond film "From Russia With Love." For two decades the Aurora operated as a pocket-sized cruise ship and changed hands several times until Willson spotted it on Craigslist in 2008. Willson negotiated a "really good deal" with the seller, and from there it was just a question of finding a place to put the nearly 300-foot-long derelict ship, a challenge that would prove its undoing. He eventually parked the boat in a shallow, fresh water berth about 14 miles outside of Stockton, California. This worked for a few years, even after the Marina closed, but locals demanded the Aurora's removal after other ships left at the site started sinking. Things got more complicated from there, according to CNN: "The ship was trapped in that channel," he says. "There was no getting it out without dredging and that's something that the city would have to do... So there was absolutely no getting out of that situation." As time went on and the pressure mounted, Willson felt more and more out of his depth and the situation began to take an emotional toll on him. Feeling dejected, he says he ultimately chose to sell the Aurora to an interested buyer who seemed just as passionate about saving the ship as he was."I didn't see myself being able to fight that battle anymore," he says, adding that selling the ship "destroyed" him."It became far too in depth for me. And I decided for mental health reasons, just to kind of stay away... To move on and find another project and do something else with my life." Willson sold the Aurora, believing the new owner had the wherewithal to keep her afloat. But seven months later, the San Joaquin County Sheriff's Office announced the ship was slowly sinking and "leaking diesel fuel and oil into the Delta Waterway." The spill required the removal of an "estimated 21,675 gallons of oily water, 3,193 gallons of hazardous waste, and five 25-yard bins of debris," according to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife's Office of Spill Prevention and Response. This is exactly the outcome the folks who put pressure on Willson originally were worried about. By December of last year, the U.S. Coast Guard of Northern California was over the polluting ship with seemingly absent owners. The ship was transported to Mare Island for disassembly. It seems the city of Stockton, which already has its own share of problems, is on the hook for the disassembly and clean up as no one can get a hold of who owned the ship when it fell into such a state of disrepair. One cruise ship historian estimated the clean up would likely cost between $10 and $20 million, CNN reports. On April 9, the Aurora was chewed apart by cranes designed to scrap ships. As for Willson, he regrets parting with the Aurora now, but doesn't regret the time he sank into the vessel. "I wouldn't trade the experience for anything," Willson told CNN. "There were so many almosts with that ship. We almost had the right people involved in order to save that ship for many, many more generations. But things fall through and we just kept waiting for the next one to happen. So I think it was worth it to take the chance." I guess there just isn't enough room in this world for the love of a man for his 294-foot vessel. Want more like this? Join the Jalopnik newsletter to get the latest auto news sent straight to your inbox... Read the original article on Jalopnik.
