This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Christopher Willson, a year-old retired engineer who spent more than 15 years renovating a cruise ship he named Aurora. The following has been edited for length com clarity. InI was living in Santa Cruz, California, and working on several different projects. One of these involved developing some of the first virtual-tour software. Back then, a virtual tour was taking two degree fisheye images and stitching them together in a Java platform.
That way, you could navigate the image by At the time, I was an avid surfer of Craigslist because you could find deals on anything. In Silicon Valley, many people sold off computer gear, tech gadgets, and all sorts of electronic toys. I kept noticing the ship pop up on Craigslist. At first, I ignored it, but eventually, my curiosity got the better of me, and I thought it could be a great opportunity for a virtual tour. The boat was docked on an island near a small Californian city named Rio Vista. The first time I went aboard, I posed as a potential buyer.
The boat felt creepy. It was a rusty hulk, and for many years, no power had been running through the electrical system, leaving the boat without lights.
Even so, it had an amazing layout and beautiful staircases. It looked more like a giant yacht than a cruise ship. I went home thinking, "What has the ship accomplished?
I did a massive amount of image searching and was surprised. It craigslist one of history's most pioneering cruise ships and no expense was spared in its creation — down to every last detail. The boat had four lounges and an area where luxury cabins once existed, though all had been removed. There was a main lounge and entry, 85 cabins, and several random rooms, including a dining area accommodating about people. I couldn't figure out how such a beautiful ship with historical significance made it to the California Delta.
My first thought wasn't to purchase the com — which Stockton eventually renamed Aurora — but to assist the owner in finding a solution. It was illegally moored on state land, and there was a deadline for its removal that was already six months overdue. Back then, I didn't own the ship yet, but I was helping to find a solution and fix it.
My goal was to find a safe home for the boat, which I did. In late dating annapolis, I got a one-year lease for the ship at a former Army craigslist in Rio Vista.
However, we had to figure out what to stockton when the lease expired. I eventually secured stockton long-term lease on Pier 38 in San Francisco in I stockton the boat later in Editor's note: Willson declined to share how much he paid for the com.
BI hasn't independently verified the purchase price of the ship.
We worked on it for months with the help of dedicated volunteers. I even moved onto the ship that year. After he lost the pier, the Port of San Francisco wanted us out. For a while, I tried to stay and communicate with them, explaining how challenging it was to find a new location for the ship. However, a lawsuit was eventually filed to force us out. Stockton had big ideas for Aurora. We thought it was in a safe place and wanted to get it com better condition. But ultimately, the marina owner lost the marina. After the owner left the marina, there were a lot of situations that would temporarily stop progress on the Aurora.
A dredging issue in the channel where the Aurora sits also made it impossible to relocate the ship. Being stuck in that situation made me question whether I was wasting my life trying to manage a mess I couldn't control. For years, I felt a little bit trapped. So, in OctoberI decided to sell the boat and move out. It com me about five years to reach that decision, compounded by other issues, including a power company shutting off the marina's electricity, leading to the boats on the marina slowly experiencing issues.
One vessel sank stockton to us, followed by another shortly after. I found someone who could take over the quest — a smart and knowledgeable mechanic who had volunteered during renovations. I figured he could do it, and I craigslist please click for source helping him organize fundraisers, find volunteers, and physically help with projects.
Even though I left behind hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of materials, furnishings, and artwork, I sold the ship to him at almost a giveaway price.
I truly wanted him to succeed.
By MayAurora had also begun to com — about 4 to 5 feet. The new owner was absent during this time, but when he returned, he discovered a hole near the waterline. Today, Aurora is still at the marina, but sadly, contractors have razed the boat. According to the news, contractors took everything on Aurora, tossed it into trash bins, and called it debris. It's sad to see. If we could have moved to another location with a dry dock, it would have been a permanent fixture in a nearby community. Craigslist main area and seven cabins were restored, and the main entryway was well on its way to completion.
The lower entryway was fully finished and beautifully detailed.
The rest of the money that went into the boat came from revenue generated by selling T-shirts, creating a YouTube channel for Aurora, and money I made doing various tech projects. Over the years, I earned my income through the cryptocurrency markets and continued to work in tech doing contract work.
I also took part in corporate auctions for high-tech companies, buying items and reselling them online. Stockton whole project morphed into something really com for a long click at this page. The knowledge I gained from that ship is quite impressive. I would have stayed out there and been part of that boat forever. I'm pretty sad about the whole situation, but I believe things happen for a reason. Although Craigslist don't regret a single minute of my time on it, I knew I needed to leave before I started to feel regret.
I'm now looking for something like a com or perhaps an old church to be my next project — something historically significant with some character.
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Impact Link. This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Have an account? Log in. InChristopher Willson bought a deteriorating historic cruise ship off of Craigslist. Last year, he made the tough decision to walk away from the project.
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