Ocean Liner

MOSCOW -- Officials in the Ukrainian city of Sevastopol decided to allow the asbestos-laden SS United States into port yesterday.The navy yard there will refurbish the sleek but decrepit ship in a job that will bring millions of badly needed dollars into the economy but that has sparked protests over its environmental hazards.The 41-year-old ocean liner, once the flagship of the U.S. trans-Atlantic fleet, had been kept out of port for several days while officials debated what to do.Owned now by Turkish and U.S. interests, the United States had been at a mooring in Turkey for more than a year, but no yard there would take on the work.

With the 100th anniversary of the Titanic, there should be a renewed interest in "A Night to Remember," Baltimorean Walter Lord's recreation of the ship's sinking. It is a classic in the dramatiuc retelling of an historical event, and you could draw a straight line to more recent books such as Sebastian Junger's "A Perfect Storm" or Jon Krakauer's "Into Thin Air. " From the first pages, Lord evokes the gentility of the steamship era, and pulls readers into the unfolding disaster.

Another popular D.C. eatery has come to Baltimore. The Oceanaire Seafood Room opened just last weekend in the new Spinnaker Bay Building in Fells Point East (or is it Inner Harbor East? At any rate, it's in the area at the foot of President Street, where all that new construction has been going on). This is No. 8 in the upscale restaurant group, with other locations in Minneapolis, Seattle, Dallas, Indianapolis, San Diego, Atlanta and the aforementioned D.C. The Web site describes Oceanaire as feeling like a 1930s ocean liner.

T hey that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters; These see the works of the Lord, and his wonders in the deep. - Psalm 107:23-30 The last time I spoke to Capt. Allen Baker, who lives in Roland Park, was to hear of his harrowing experiences riding out Hurricane Katrina aboard the tug Joan Moran, which was moored near the Industrial Canal in New Orleans. After my column appeared last Sunday on preservation battles swirling around the cruiser Olympia, Adm. George E. Dewey's flagship that triumphed over the Spanish naval squadron at Manila Bay in 1898, and the United States, the fabled trans-Atlantic liner, whose 1952 speed record for an ocean crossing remains unbroken, my phone began ringing and my e-mail basket went into meltdown with messages from ship buffs, maritime historians, preservationists and those who simply had memories they wanted to share.

NEW YORK - The Queen Mary 2 arrived yesterday, and New York was barely big enough to hold it. Billed as the world's biggest ocean liner, the 1,132-foot QM2 emerged from the fog, squeezed under the Verrazano Bridge and came into New York harbor yesterday morning. It was greeted by fireboats that saluted with water sprays, an escort of police boats, helicopters buzzing overhead and tugboats on standby, if needed. They weren't. The old expression, it's like trying to turn around the Queen Mary, no longer holds.

Captain James Landing is a restaurant that tries to be all things to all people, and especially to those who want to eat in a restaurant that looks like an ocean liner. You've seen it a thousand times on your way to some trendier restaurant in Canton: the ship -- no, half a ship; the owners ran out of room to build the stern -- that sits on the corner of Boston and Aliceanna streets, just a parking lot away from the water. Captain James is a seafood restaurant (no surprise there), but it also serves breakfast 24 hours a day; offers Greek and Italian specialties at lunch; and has pizza, submarines and sandwiches.

With the 100th anniversary of the Titanic, there should be a renewed interest in "A Night to Remember," Baltimorean Walter Lord's recreation of the ship's sinking. It is a classic in the dramatiuc retelling of an historical event, and you could draw a straight line to more recent books such as Sebastian Junger's "A Perfect Storm" or Jon Krakauer's "Into Thin Air. " From the first pages, Lord evokes the gentility of the steamship era, and pulls readers into the unfolding disaster.

A look at recent travel news, deals and tips. Rehearsal rate The Sanctuary Hotel in New York has a "Dress Rehearsal" rate that's perfect for Thanksgiving. The hotel, which undergoing a multimillion-dollar upgrade, is offering nine of its newly renovated rooms at $159 per night. Guests also receive a $50 credit for a future stay when they give feedback to the hotel. After the renovation is complete, rates will start at $309. The offer is good through March 31. I checked last week, and there were rooms available for Thanksgiving.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- I stood riveted in the low-lit gallery, listening to the events aboard the Titanic the night of April 14, 1912. How another ship had warned the crew about icy water ahead. How Capt. Edward Smith was so unconcerned that he went to bed. How the North Atlantic was as smooth as glass and the sky was moonless -- terrible conditions for the ship's lookout, Frederick Fleet, to spot icebergs or hear waves splashing against them.I studied a beacon lamp and telegraph instruments recovered from the Titanic's bridge, and my palms turned sweaty, awaiting the inevitable: "Ice right ahead, sir!"

ABOARD THE QUEEN ELIZABETH 2 - The last two weeks of Robert Muller's journey aboard the world's most famous ocean liner he was dead. Which is just the way he wanted it. And that is just the way his widow, Beatrice Muller, hopes to go, too. Her husband died at age 85 aboard the QE2, as it is known, as it sailed off Bermuda in 1999, then was transported in the ship's mortuary to Southampton, England, where he was cremated and, eventually, buried at sea....

A look at recent travel news, deals and tips. Rehearsal rate The Sanctuary Hotel in New York has a "Dress Rehearsal" rate that's perfect for Thanksgiving. The hotel, which undergoing a multimillion-dollar upgrade, is offering nine of its newly renovated rooms at $159 per night. Guests also receive a $50 credit for a future stay when they give feedback to the hotel. After the renovation is complete, rates will start at $309. The offer is good through March 31. I checked last week, and there were rooms available for Thanksgiving.

Another popular D.C. eatery has come to Baltimore. The Oceanaire Seafood Room opened just last weekend in the new Spinnaker Bay Building in Fells Point East (or is it Inner Harbor East? At any rate, it's in the area at the foot of President Street, where all that new construction has been going on). This is No. 8 in the upscale restaurant group, with other locations in Minneapolis, Seattle, Dallas, Indianapolis, San Diego, Atlanta and the aforementioned D.C. The Web site describes Oceanaire as feeling like a 1930s ocean liner.

NEW YORK - The Queen Mary 2 arrived yesterday, and New York was barely big enough to hold it. Billed as the world's biggest ocean liner, the 1,132-foot QM2 emerged from the fog, squeezed under the Verrazano Bridge and came into New York harbor yesterday morning. It was greeted by fireboats that saluted with water sprays, an escort of police boats, helicopters buzzing overhead and tugboats on standby, if needed. They weren't. The old expression, it's like trying to turn around the Queen Mary, no longer holds.

ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. - Lifting off in a blimp is downright scary. The motor wheezes like an overworked weed-eater, and the angle of ascent is so steep that passengers tilt forward in their seats as if they are on an amusement ride. For a few moments, it seems certain the oversized balloon will deflate and fall back to earth. But once the blimp levels out at about 1,000 feet, the ride becomes as smooth as a cruise on a luxury ocean liner - minus the seasickness. Throughout the summer, hundreds of vacationers have paid $100 to $200 each to be part of the only blimp tour in North America (one of just three worldwide)

ABOARD THE QUEEN ELIZABETH 2 - The last two weeks of Robert Muller's journey aboard the world's most famous ocean liner he was dead. Which is just the way he wanted it. And that is just the way his widow, Beatrice Muller, hopes to go, too. Her husband died at age 85 aboard the QE2, as it is known, as it sailed off Bermuda in 1999, then was transported in the ship's mortuary to Southampton, England, where he was cremated and, eventually, buried at sea....

Captain James Landing is a restaurant that tries to be all things to all people, and especially to those who want to eat in a restaurant that looks like an ocean liner. You've seen it a thousand times on your way to some trendier restaurant in Canton: the ship -- no, half a ship; the owners ran out of room to build the stern -- that sits on the corner of Boston and Aliceanna streets, just a parking lot away from the water. Captain James is a seafood restaurant (no surprise there), but it also serves breakfast 24 hours a day; offers Greek and Italian specialties at lunch; and has pizza, submarines and sandwiches.

A MEMORABLE EXPERIENCE Anniversary on the QE2 By Gail Snyder Shochet SPECIAL TO THE SUN No matter how quick or convenient airline travel may be, it can never match the romance or sheer nostalgia of traveling by ocean liner -- particularly if the ship in question is the Queen Elizabeth 2. It doesn't hurt if the cruise departs from New York City and affords breathtaking views of the harbor at dawn, or that one is headed to balmy Bermuda to soak up...

ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. - Lifting off in a blimp is downright scary. The motor wheezes like an overworked weed-eater, and the angle of ascent is so steep that passengers tilt forward in their seats as if they are on an amusement ride. For a few moments, it seems certain the oversized balloon will deflate and fall back to earth. But once the blimp levels out at about 1,000 feet, the ride becomes as smooth as a cruise on a luxury ocean liner - minus the seasickness. Throughout the summer, hundreds of vacationers have paid $100 to $200 each to be part of the only blimp tour in North America (one of just three worldwide)

A MEMORABLE EXPERIENCE Anniversary on the QE2 By Gail Snyder Shochet SPECIAL TO THE SUN No matter how quick or convenient airline travel may be, it can never match the romance or sheer nostalgia of traveling by ocean liner -- particularly if the ship in question is the Queen Elizabeth 2. It doesn't hurt if the cruise departs from New York City and affords breathtaking views of the harbor at dawn, or that one is headed to balmy Bermuda to soak up...

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- I stood riveted in the low-lit gallery, listening to the events aboard the Titanic the night of April 14, 1912. How another ship had warned the crew about icy water ahead. How Capt. Edward Smith was so unconcerned that he went to bed. How the North Atlantic was as smooth as glass and the sky was moonless -- terrible conditions for the ship's lookout, Frederick Fleet, to spot icebergs or hear waves splashing against them.I studied a beacon lamp and telegraph instruments recovered from the Titanic's bridge, and my palms turned sweaty, awaiting the inevitable: "Ice right ahead, sir!"