History

 



RETURN TO THE HOMEPAGE                                                                                                                                                                                                                   S/S SANTA ROSA 1932
 


Grace Line was founded in 1865 by William Russell Grace. The Santa Rosa was part of a quartet of liners built for Grace Line's "Route of Romance" intercoastal service from New York to California via the Caribbean and the Panama Canal. This service had its origins in the Panama Mail Company's New York to San Francisco service started in 1923.

Design and Construction (1932 - 1933):

Santa Rosa and her sisters were designed by the Gibbs & Cox (who later went on to design the S.S. America and the S.S. United States). William Francis Gibbs had also designed the Malolo (1926)  for Matson Line. The quartet were built at the Federal Shipbuilding & Drydock Company in New Jersey. These ships had some general resemblance to Malolo (1926), with her great beam and low stern. They were 9,100 tons gross, roughtly 580 ft long and 72 ft wide and were powered by steam turbines and could carry 300 passengers. They boasted two innovations; the sampan, or winged funnel designed by William Francis Gibbs, and a dining room situated on the Promenade Deck between the two funnels with a roll back ceiling. This meant that passengers could dine beneath the tropical stars. Grace Line also employed waitresses instead of stewards.

Their power plants were at the time second to none in efficiency. Each of the water tube steam generators with a pressure of 430 lbs. produced 6000 hp. and each ship could make 18-1/2 knots with only three boilers active. The main engines were double reduction turbines. The screws turned inward, and for this reason were very awkward to manoeuvre. The passenger capacity of the SANTA ROSA class was 209 in first class and about 50 in steerage. Their public rooms were all on the promenade deck, with the dining salon extending two and a half decks in height to a roll back dome. The after dining room bulkhead was adorned with a large oil painting of a Grace clipper. Each cabin, whether single or double was equipped with private bath.

The Prewar Grace Line era (1932 - 1939):

<>The Santa Rosa entered service in 1932 to great acclaim. She sailed on her maiden voyage on the 26th November 1932. With the new quartet the Grace Line established the first passenger service between New York and Seattle. New York-Seattle running time was 20 days, including one day in Los Angeles and two in San FranciscoThe 20 knot service and the ship's superior accommodations to anything the Pacific Coast shipping had to offer made this an exceedingly popular run. 

In 1936 the intercoastal service was closed and the sisters transferred to the Caribbean service.

The War Years (1939 - 1947):

During the Second World War the quartet were requisitioned by the US Government. Sadly only two of the sisters survived the Second World War - Santa Rosa and Santa Paula.

The Postwar Grace Line era (1947 - 1958):

The Santa Rosa resumed the Caribbean service after the Second World War on the 7th February 1947, soon followed by the return of the Santa Paula on the 2nd May. The Santa Rosa and her surviving sister, Santa Paula, continued in service until replaced by the new Santa Rosa and Santa Paula in 1958.

The Final Years (1958 - 1989):

In 1958 the Santa Rosa and her sister were sold to a Greek shipping line, Typaldos Lines, and renamed Athinai. She was converted to carry three classes of passengers on voyages in the Mediterranean, Black Sea and Adriatic. However following an investigation of the loss of one of their ships, Typaldos Lines was disbanded in 1966 and the Athinai was laid up for what turned out to be a long sleep for the venerable old liner.

However in 1978 Lord Lew Grade was making the "Raise the Titanic" film, based on the book by Clive Cussler, and was looking for a suitable ship to film the interiors of the Titanic on. It was decided that the former Santa Rosa was a perfect candidate. So the ship was awoken from her long slumber and in 1978-9 the name Titanic was painted on her bows and she was used for the filming. Sadly the film was a flop and the former Santa Rosa returned to her slumber for a further few years until 1989 when she was towed off for scrapping at Aliaga.




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