Ahoy! SF Bay Cruises this Summer aboard "Jeremiah O'Brien"

e historic WWII Liberty Ship marks the 65th anniversary of her June 19, 1943 launch with an unprecedented array of cruises and special events. Home to the nonprofit National Liberty Ship Memorial, the S.S. Jeremiah O’Brien is the world’s oldest, most historically accurate World War II vessel still in Coast Guard-approved operation. Each cruise includes alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, delectable appetizers, buffet meals, and desserts, music, entertainment, and dancing with full access to this amazing floating memorial including the bridge, engine room, cabins, museum, and gun turrets. Cruise duration is from 4 to 9 hours, depending upon the cruise, and tickets range in price from $100 to $175 per person. In addition, the S.S. Jeremiah O’Brien is also offering several popular dockside events, including the the San Francisco Brewer’s Guild ‘Brews on the Bay’ weekend.

The 2008 S.S. Jeremiah O’Brien Summer Cruise Schedule follows. Please check www.ssjeremiahobrien.org for any schedule changes or call 415-544-0100

July 23, 10am ‘til 2pm: Festival of Sail Visits San Francisco Bay Cruise ($100 per person)
When the great sailing ships travel around the world and converge on our fair shores we like to greet these amazing sailing vessels and their cadets with a Grand Welcome.

August 16, 10am ‘til 4pm: Visit to the Ghost Fleet Cruise ($150 per person)
Some call it the Reserve Fleet, others call it the Mothball Fleet, in any case these former proud vessels now sit in Suisun Bay waiting patiently on an unsure future. The S.S. Jeremiah O’Brien returns to visit her former resting place and to salute the ships of the Mothball Fleet. See the USS Iowa in her current location. Continental breakfast & catered picnic lunch. Natural Gas Jazz Band will be featured.
October 11, 9am ‘til 5pm: Fleet Week ($150 per person)
Join us in the Parade of Ships welcoming guest vessels to San Francisco, and enjoy the air show featuring the Navy Blue Angels! There is no better viewing spot on the whole waterfront than the decks of the S.S. Jeremiah O’Brien to see the pilots swoop around the East Bay hills, the city and the Golden Gate Bridge. Includes continental breakfast & catered lunch. Natural Gas Jazz Band will be featured on Saturday. (Departure Pier TBA)

October 12, 10am ‘til 5pm: Fleet Week Cruise ($150 per person)
Under balmy October skies, enjoy the air show featuring the Navy Blue Angels! There is no better viewing spot on the whole waterfront than the decks of the S.S. Jeremiah O’Brien to see the pilots swoop around the East Bay hills, the City and the Golden Gate Bridge. A not to be missed experience! Includes continental breakfast and catered lunch. Phirehouse Philharmonic is scheduled for Sunday (Departure Pier TBA)

NOTE: Those interested in booking the Jeremith O’Brien for a special event should contact the offices of David Perry & Associates, Inc. at (415) 693-0583 / news@davidperry.com or PR That Rocks at (415) 381-8647 / chris@prthatrocks.com

The S.S. Jeremiah O’Brien History in Brief:
During World War II, 2,751 Liberty Ships, constructed at 18 US ship yards, were meant to be built quicker than German U-Boats could sink them. “Built by the mile and chopped off by the yard,” as President Roosevelt said, they were to form a “bridge of ships” across the Atlantic. Winston Churchill wrote, “Without the supply column of Liberty Ships that endlessly plowed the seas between America and England, the war would have been lost.”

The S.S. Jeremiah O’Brien was built in a blisteringly fast 56 days and launched in South Portland, Maine on June 19, 1943. She made four harrowing Atlantic crossings and eleven Normandy D-Day landings during WWII and also served in the Pacific Theater and Indian Ocean. Mothballed in 1946, she was laid up for 33-years in Suisun Bay before possession of the ship was taken over in 1979 to be restored. After countless thousands of hours of restoration work, the ship is on the National Register of Historic Places and a National Historic Landmark dedicated to the men and women who both built and sailed the ships of the U.S. Merchant Marine in WWII. The S.S. Jeremiah O’Brien proudly returned to Normandy as part of the 50th Anniversary of the Normandy D-Day Celebrations in 1994. She was the only U.S. ship from the original 6,939-ship armada to make the return. On June 17, 2008 the O’Brien hosted the world premiere of the new History Channel documentary Hero Ships: S.S. Jeremiah O’Brien. The documentary, from Lou Reda Productions, will air later this summer on the History Channel.