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SAGA RUBY And The IVERNIA Dresser Saga By Peter Knego
The SALONA reflecting her Clydebank lines in the sands of Alang, February 2004. Photo and copyright Peter Knego 2004.
part one
March 26, 2006:
If you are reading this, then you are probably aware of my efforts to salvage important remnants and artifacts from Alang, India's "Beach Of Doom", where scores of lovely old passenger ships have recently gone to die.
Top, the captain's bedroom showing Soviet carpeting and a flourish of India, but otherwise all original Cunard features in February of 2004. The dresser is to the left. Photo and copyright Peter Knego 2004. Bottom, a view of the dresser weeks later, before its removal from the SALONA (ex IVERNIA, FRANCONIA, FEDOR SHALYAPIN). Photo by Kaushal B. Trivedi, copyright P.K. Productions 2004.
During my rushed February 2004 visit to an old favorite, the SALONA, which began life as Cunard's IVERNIA in 1955 (and later became their final FRANCONIA before going to the Soviets as FEDOR SHALYAPIN), I was able to lead our guide to the captain's quarters. SALONA had just been beached the day before and her fittings had not yet been offered to the local traders for sale in the nearby marketplace. Hastily, I pointed out all the room's original wooden fixtures, which include the desk I am writing from, a large cabinet, several chairs, a wooden bedframe, and a square wooden dresser. These items were among literally tons of materials I purchased from SALONA and a host of other classic ladies that would slowly be torched out of existence.
Delivered to my home in July of 2004, the dresser lay in my garage for nearly two years as I pondered its future. It was the only one of its kind on the ship and in excellent condition with maple veneer and mahogany framework. It was a bit large for my bedroom and far too sentimental for me to offer for sale. So there it sat, awaiting a purpose of some sort, housing some ephemera that needed filing and several Luzzati ceramics from the beloved STELLA OCEANIS.
Following the west coast visit of the QUEEN MARY 2 and all of the activity surrounding the "meeting of the QUEENs" (and subsequent tribute honoring Cunard's legendary Commodore Ronald W. Warwick on board the QUEEN MARY) this past month, it was a huge honor and delight to host the commodore, his two brothers, and a gathering of friends at my home. The commodore's father, Commodore William Warwick, spent many years on board the IVERNIA, so having his sons make the pilgrimage to Moorpark to share part of their family history was an event I would always cherish.
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The bottom of drawer number one, with the builder's delineations. Photo and copyright Peter Knego 2006. Ê
Toward the end of our delightful day, we visited my garage, and after some rummaging, I was able to show the commodore his father's former dresser. Scribbled underneath each tongue-in-groove jointed drawer was the number of the drawer and "693 captain's bedroom". The John Brown and Company carpenters were busy fitting out many ships in 1955, so there was good reason to have each vessel's hull number stenciled or written underneath every dresser, table, and panel before the item left the shop.
Commodore Warwick examines one of the dresser's drawers. Photo by Mike Masino, copyright P.K. Productions 2006. Ê
Immediately, the dresser's destiny became very clear, but how might we get it to the commodore's home in the U.K. safely? I mused about putting it on the QE2 when she visits Los Angeles in 2007, but that was such a long time off. "Why not see if Stephen Card can get it on the SAGA RUBY?", suggested Thomas Cassidy of the Steamship Historical Society of America. Saga Holiday's gorgeous, 25,000 gt SAGA RUBY (ex VISTAFJORD, CARONIA) was due to make her maiden call at Los Angeles in late March, an event that I had already been anticipating.
As the epically-talented maritime painter Stephen and his wife, Ruth, were not boarding the RUBY until her call at nearby San Francisco, there would be little time for him to make arrangements before the ship came to Los Angeles. Stephen suggested I contact Saga Holiday's director of marine operations, Grant Laversuch, who once worked with Cunard and knew the commodore. I gave it a try, thinking that he might find me a complete nut case, but nothing ventured, nothing gained...
What a delight it was to get an instant and positive reply from Mr. Laversuch, asking merely that I try to avoid bringing the dresser during embarkation or disembarkation time. Fantastic!
In order for it to fit in our automobile, there was no way I could box or crate the dresser, so my plan was to tie the drawers together to prevent them from sliding out and cover the delicate veneer in protective bubble wrap, leaving enough of the dresser exposed so that it could be examined by zealous pierside homeland security officials without taking off layers of packaging.
Since the RUBY arrived in darkness and would sail after sunset, we (Martin Cox, Michael Masino and I) decided to take the morning harbor cruise on the Fiesta (310-831-1906/$13.00), a forty five minute jaunt from San Pedro's Ports of Call Village that ventures into the new container port and back via the turning basin under the Vincent-Thomas Bridge. Enroute, it passes the cruise ship terminal, where the line-up (VISION OF THE SEAS at Pier 93, SUMMIT at Pier 92, and SAGA RUBY at Pier 91) awaited our clicking shutters.
The SAGA RUBY at pier 91 during her maiden visit to Los Angeles on 26 March 2006. Photo and copyright Martin Cox 2006.Ê
The RUBY was quite literally dwarfed by the two Panamax vessels, but what she lacked in girth, she more than made up for in sleek, balanced beauty. Without a doubt the aesthetic titan of the port, the mere sight of the SAGA RUBY made us all feel good and reminded us why we loved ships in the first place: that long sliver of a bow; the wedding cake layers of her superstructure; those swept back bridge wings; the rakishly sculpted funnel in blue, white, and (gasp, a traditional funnel livery color!) yellow; terraced afterdecks; and ladylike cruiser spoon stern.
Delivered by Swan, Hunter, Wigham and Richardson of Wallsend in 1973 as the VISTAFJORD, she was, to me, the last truly beautiful passenger ship ever built. Norwegian America Line spared no expense in her construction, and to quote Jon Voight in the now obscure film that featured the ship on a melancholy cruise of the Mediterranean, "Table For Five", she literally was the "Rolls Royce" of cruise ships.
Cunard purchased NAL (by then NAC, for Norwegian America Cruises), ultimately disbanding the historic company, but keeping the names and legendary status of the VISTAFJORD and her even more sumptuous semi-sister, SAGAFJORD (now, quite happily SAGA ROSE), unchanged. The two ships remained on long itineraries catering to the creme de la cremes while sporting Cunard's celebrated black-topped, banded orange/red funnel liveries. In 1999, VISTAFJORD became CARONIA, remaining in service with Cunard until last year when Saga Holidays purchased her and gave her quite a significant refit to become their SAGA RUBY.
Peter Knego and Martin Cox with the dresser at the promenade adjacent to the L.A. cruise ship terminal. Photo by Mike Masino, copyright P.K. Productons 2006.
Following our harbor cruise, we parked in the Catalina terminal, which is a bit of a long haul from where the RUBY was berthed. IDs were flashed to the security guard at the entry gate who crankily waved us through. We rolled our cargo along the lower extremes of pier 93, my childhood ship-spotting ground, past memories of once mighty ships like CANBERRA, the first ORIANA, ARCADIA, and ORONSAY. We crossed the lot and wound around banks of cars to the "new" terminal building at pier 92, where the mountainous SUMMIT loomed quite literally over the mere "hill" of SAGA RUBY at 91.
Peter Knego and Michael Masino roll the dresser within sight of the RUBY. Photo and copyright Martin Cox 2006.
The security guards were far less intrigued by our cargo than I predicted, asking that we go through the metal detectors and then did a hand check of the dresser, which was easy to inspect through it's open back side. With the help of some of the RUBY's crew, we lifted it over the gangway stanchion and wheeled a bit of Cunard history onto the former Cunard ship. Immediately dispatched to a vacant cabin, the dresser was now on its way home, and, thanks to the RUBY's hospitable hotel manager, Horst, we were invited to spend the rest of the afternoon on board.
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