Bobcat
Founding Member
Historic ship opens for happy hour
BY MANDY MILES Citizen Staff
mmiles@keysnews.com
"A Chardonnay and a sangria, please," are not the same sort of orders that were once issued on the deck of Coast Guard Cutter Ingham, but the historic floating museum ship at Truman Waterfront is happy to fill these orders during its newly launched sunset happy hours on Fridays and Saturdays.
"It's so nice down here in the evenings with a breeze and an unobstructed view of sunset," said Bill Verge, director of the military museum that has been docked at Truman Waterfront for five years. "We do beer, wine and sangria. Beers are $3, sangria is $4, and craft beers are $5. There's no cats jumping through hoops down here, but it's quiet with free parking and a great view."
All proceeds from the happy hour are used to help keep the ship afloat as a museum.
The ship remains open for tours from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily, leading visitors through the only Coast Guard ship that has received two presidential unit citations for its wartime service.
The self-guided tour details the ship's work from the 1930s through the 1980s and its tours during World War II when it sunk a German U-boat.
The interior of the 327-foot cutter looks the same today as it did when its Coast Guardsmen stepped off at the May 1988 decommissioning.
Since its restoration the ship has been declared the National Memorial to Guardsmen killed in action in World War II and Vietnam.
Later in its life, the ship rescued survivors and escorted passenger boats that carried hundreds of Cuban refugees to Key West in the 1980s during the Mariel Boatlift.
These and all of the ship's duties and capabilities are described in the Ingham's tour, which costs $10 for adults and $5 for children.
"There's a $5 admission for the Friday and Saturday happy hour, but it pays for your first drink," Verge said. "We have to do that to keep the homeless off the ship who just want to hang out at sunset."
The deck can accommodate 250 people for happy hour, as well as special events such as weddings, rehearsal dinners and other private parties for which the ship can be rented.
The happy hours so far have been attracting mostly locals, but some tourists find their way from Mallory Square.
"I'm trying to recreate the old days on the pier at Mallory, when a handful of us would go down to watch the sunset with a drink. There's light music, conversation, and when the sun set, we'd all applaud, then go home and eat dinner. It makes for a really nice evening away from Duval Street."
BY MANDY MILES Citizen Staff
mmiles@keysnews.com
"A Chardonnay and a sangria, please," are not the same sort of orders that were once issued on the deck of Coast Guard Cutter Ingham, but the historic floating museum ship at Truman Waterfront is happy to fill these orders during its newly launched sunset happy hours on Fridays and Saturdays.
"It's so nice down here in the evenings with a breeze and an unobstructed view of sunset," said Bill Verge, director of the military museum that has been docked at Truman Waterfront for five years. "We do beer, wine and sangria. Beers are $3, sangria is $4, and craft beers are $5. There's no cats jumping through hoops down here, but it's quiet with free parking and a great view."
All proceeds from the happy hour are used to help keep the ship afloat as a museum.
The ship remains open for tours from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily, leading visitors through the only Coast Guard ship that has received two presidential unit citations for its wartime service.
The self-guided tour details the ship's work from the 1930s through the 1980s and its tours during World War II when it sunk a German U-boat.
The interior of the 327-foot cutter looks the same today as it did when its Coast Guardsmen stepped off at the May 1988 decommissioning.
Since its restoration the ship has been declared the National Memorial to Guardsmen killed in action in World War II and Vietnam.
Later in its life, the ship rescued survivors and escorted passenger boats that carried hundreds of Cuban refugees to Key West in the 1980s during the Mariel Boatlift.
These and all of the ship's duties and capabilities are described in the Ingham's tour, which costs $10 for adults and $5 for children.
"There's a $5 admission for the Friday and Saturday happy hour, but it pays for your first drink," Verge said. "We have to do that to keep the homeless off the ship who just want to hang out at sunset."
The deck can accommodate 250 people for happy hour, as well as special events such as weddings, rehearsal dinners and other private parties for which the ship can be rented.
The happy hours so far have been attracting mostly locals, but some tourists find their way from Mallory Square.
"I'm trying to recreate the old days on the pier at Mallory, when a handful of us would go down to watch the sunset with a drink. There's light music, conversation, and when the sun set, we'd all applaud, then go home and eat dinner. It makes for a really nice evening away from Duval Street."
arty:
