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Launching of the Andrea-Doria by Andrea von Plant |
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| I remember that fine June morning as if it were yesterday. The mayor,
governor, and president had all come to father's shipyard to celebrate the launching of
"my" Andrea-Doria.
The ship was to have been Titanic, named after my uncle's second wife, a lady wrestler, but I was pretty willful then as a child and put up such a fuss that father gave in and put my and my dog Doria's names on it instead. Like so many Plant ships, the Andrea-Doria sailed with distinction, but met an early and watery grave. Sailing between Tampa and Hollywood, the Andrea-Doria became an internationally known celebrity ship. Often there were more Hollywood film stars on the ship than the usual political refugees that frequented that route. After serving as a converted troop carrier in the Islas Malvinas War, the Andrea-Doria was returned to civilian use, only to end up on the bottom of the bay in a collision with the La Jolla Lighthouse. |
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 Table of Contents Tampa Hysterical Society home page. |
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