Last Days for the Lloyd
The year 1973 was not just the last time the New York Knicks won the NBA championship, it was also the last season for the Lloyd I. Seaman, our fourth boat. The Lloyd was launched in 1935 and considered the finest hospital ship afloat at the time. Unfortunately, ships don’t last forever, and in 1972 it was reported that “new marine regulations and advances in medical technology have joined to make the Lloyd I. Seaman obsolete.”(1) The Lloyd would carry 32,838 passengers during its last season, making the 63rd and final sail on September 1.(2)
The boat’s life didn’t end there. In 1976, it was renamed the “Robert Fulton” and served as a floating restaurant at the South Street Seaport for several years. It would end its days as a risky adventure spot for kayakers to explore, rusting away in a Baltimore backwater, and was eventually scrapped in 2007. There’s a great video on YouTube that tells the full story and shows what those kayakers saw.
1973 was also exactly a hundred years since we had first dipped our toes in the water, taking a thousand mothers and children out for two trial trips in the summer of 1873 on the barges “Chicago” and “Republic.” Those dedicated organizers, medical staff and others, all volunteers, wanted to make a difference and help their fellow New Yorkers in need… a legacy that continues today.
Sources:
“Young and Old Revel Aboard Hospital Ship.” Daily News, July 30, 1972
“Rides Out on Heat Wave.” Daily News, September 1, 1973