They'll be rolling out the red carpet Hollywood-style next month at the Michigan Maritime Museum in South Haven. In fact, it will be a Red Carpet Dock Reception for a major Hollywood star on July 9th. While this particular star holds tons of stories from throughout history, don't expect her to speak for herself. You see, this star is a 36-foot motor life boat from the motion picture "The Finest Hours."
The special United States Coast Guard Motor Life Boat 36460 will arrive at the Michigan Maritime Museum docks for the full-tilt Red Carpet Reception on Saturday, July 9th from 2pm until 5pm. It will play a major role in the museum's new exhibit on the movie.
By way of explanation, on February 18, 1952, a massive nor'easter struck New England, tearing apart the oil tanker Pendleton, trapping 33 sailors inside its rapidly sinking stern. Despite overwhelming odds, four Coastguardsmen from Station Chatham, Massachusetts, managed to bring 32 survivors safely to shore in their 36-foot motor lifeboat.
Two years ago, Walt Disney Pictures began production of a feature film based on the Pendleton rescue. Producers sought out an operational 36-foot motor lifeboat to portray the rescue craft, but only two exist in the entire nation. The CG36500, the actual boat used in the rescue is on display in Orlean, Massachusetts and the CG36460 was owned by Jeff Shook of Fenton, Michigan. His boat was cast for the role.
The film was released this past January and now there's an interactive exhibit at the museum.
Prior to the motion picture role, Shook had planned to site the boat at the Michigan Maritime Museum as an on-water exhibit, saying, "As I learned from wooden boats, they always require work, they need to be in the water to stay swelled up, and they need to operate to stay healthy." He adds, "In order to preserve the boat better, I needed to find a way for it to be used." He knew of the programs that the museum provided and thought it would be a good fit.
Then one day Jeff got a phone call from Disney, so he contacted one of the book's authors found out the offer was the real deal, and he agreed. So…a bit later than had been originally planned…the amazing watercraft will hit the docks in South Haven next month, and the public is invited to the big Red Carpet Reception.
