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Christopher Willson bought an old cruise ship on Craigslist 14 years ago.
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The ship, named Aurora, was one of the first ships built by Germany after World War II, Willson said.
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Willson plans to turn it into a bed and breakfast and a coastal cruiser.
When Christopher Willson found an old cruise ship on Craigslist in 2008, it was a happy accident.
Willson, a former tech developer, was working on virtual tour software when he came across a cruise ship named “Faithful” on Craigslist. Anxious to take a virtual tour of the ship, he contacted the owner.
“I pretended to be a potential buyer, and the owner, who was a ship salvager, let me on board. After taking the virtual tour, I returned home curious about the story of the ship but I couldn’t find anything about it,” Willson told Insider. .
Willson spent days researching the ship’s history until he found a photo that looked exactly like the ship.
“I looked through hundreds of images of vintage liners, and did a lot of comparing and cross-referencing the ship’s appearance before finding a match,” Willson said.
Willson discovered that the ship was the Wappen von Hamburg, one of the first ships officially built by Germany after World War II.
Willson decided to buy the ship, which was covered in layers of old paint, because of its historical value.
Willson told Insider the ship was listed on Craigslist for $1.2 million, but he negotiated with the seller to halve the purchase price. Insider was unable to independently verify the price of the vessel.
After Willson took possession of the ship, he renamed it Aurora.
German shipbuilding company Blohm+Voss, which built the ship, confirmed to Insider that Aurora and the Wappen von Hamburg are the same ship.
Willson had no experience in shipbuilding, but his past career as a disaster recovery specialist taught him how to fix things.
Willson spent 13 years traveling to places destroyed by fires and floods to recover mechanical and electrical equipment for insurance restoration companies.
“I’ve always learned fast and I’ve always been good at working with my hands. I’ve rebuilt a bunch of cars,” Willson said.
The 293-foot cruise ship had three decks, 85 en-suite cabins, a dining room and lounge, an outdoor swimming pool, and numerous structural issues when Willson bought her.
When Willson took possession of the cruise ship, it was full of boxes, old chairs and mattresses.
“Some of it was usable, but a lot of it was absolute garbage that we had to get rid of,” Willson said in one of his YouTube videos.
The wood on the deck had been completely destroyed by the moisture, Willson said. He had to get rid of all the rotten wood and rust before he could even begin the restoration process.
To breathe new life into Aurora’s hallway, Willson removed the concrete floors and paneled walls to repair the underlying damage.
The passage is now carpeted and has fresh coats of paint.
In 2015, Willson created a Facebook page called Aurora Project Restoration. People started sharing more information about the ship.
A comment from a Facebook user made Willson realize that Aurora was SPECTER’s floating seat in the 1963 James Bond film, “From Russia with Love.” After scrutinizing the scenes from the film, he realized it was true.
Other Facebook users shared old travel brochures from the cruise. From 1972 to 1977, the ship was called Xanadu, and it was famous for its voyages around Alaska and North America, according to East Bay Times.
“She had a real exclusive air about her; she looked a lot like a yacht,” maritime historian Peter Knego told the outlet in 2008. called Xanadu.”
Willson said he spends 10 hours a day restoring Aurora.
The renovation process has accelerated in recent years.
In December, he launched a YouTube channel called “Aurora Restoration Project”, which helped spread awareness of his project. The YouTube channel documents the cruise ship’s ongoing restoration process. The channel has 13 videos that have totaled 2.4 million views and over 77,000 subscribers.
Willson expects a big increase in activity on the boat in July.
“In July, we are expecting 80-100 volunteers, mostly people from Silicon Valley because there is a tech event – Ephemerisle – a mile and a half from here. The CEO and founder of the internet archiving tool, Wayback Machine, will also be joining us,” added Willson.
“I’m doing what I can to help Aurora – a great project, and Chris is a very welcoming captain,” Wayback Machine CEO Brewster Kahle told Insider.
Volunteers don’t need to have relevant skills: Willson said he welcomes help from a range of volunteers, from people with experience working on museum ships to people who can only paint .
The renovations are currently 40% complete. Willson told Insider he’s already spent around $1 million fixing the ship.
Willson also raises money to help him restore the ship. He told Insider his goal was to raise $3 million.
“Once you finish one end of the ship, you have to start all over again by the time you get to the other end. Even a brand new ship requires maintenance from the start,” Willson said.
Willson’s next restoration program involves repairing the galley, which was destroyed by a leak on the deck.
“We have just finished removing all old and obsolete devices, and we are currently working to raise funds to restore this area,” he said.
Although some of Aurora’s cabins have been renovated, Willson says most cabins on board are still not in good condition.
Willson says he intends to restore all 85 cabins over time. He currently lives on the boat with his wife: “If I don’t stay, people will come and steal things.”
The ship is currently docked in Stockton, Calif., but Willson plans to take it back to San Francisco.
He intends to turn Aurora into a guesthouse and event center.
His end goal is to make Aurora a coastal cruiser and sell her as a co-ownership.
“Hopefully I can restore her to a working coastal cruiser and allow her to sail up and down the west coast to Mexico and Canada,” Willson said.
Read the original Insider article
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