By Andrew Petkofsky
Jun 12, 2006
Richmond Times-Dispatch
Click Here for Original Article

NEWPORT NEWS -- A full-size reproduction of the ironclad USS Monitor got star billing yesterday, but adventure novelist Clive Cussler also drew hundreds of fans.

Cussler, who has 120 million copies of his books in print, was the keynote speaker for the christening of the reproduction built for the USS Monitor Center that will open next year at the Mariners' Museum.

A crowd estimated by museum officials at more than 1,000 people attended the 2 p.m. event, but many arrived as early as 10:30 a.m. to stand in line for a Cussler book-signing that had been set to start at noon.

"I came because he was going to be here," said Barbara Rode of Yorktown. She stood in line with two hardbound copies of Cussler's 2005 novel, "Polar Shift."

Sarah Pishko, owner of Prince Books in Norfolk, had brought 250 copies of Cussler books to sell for the signing, and by 1:30 p.m., fewer than half were left.

Pishko said many fans also brought bags and backpacks of Cussler novels from their home collections, and the author cooperated by signing all of them even though it meant stretching the session well beyond its scheduled hour.

John Goodin, who traveled from Chesapeake to get a book signed after hearing about Cussler's appearance on the radio that morning, said he was also thrilled to be present at the Monitor christening.

"It's a great fiction and nonfiction event," Goodin said. "I mean two great stories."

The Mariners' Museum was designated by the federal government in 1987 as the repository for Monitor artifacts recovered from the site where the ship sank off Cape Hatteras in 1862.

The revolutionary armored warship had gained its place in history the previous March by battling the Confederate ironclad CSS Virginia to a draw in Hampton Roads harbor and preventing the Virginia from destroying the Union fleet.

The museum now has more than 1,200 Monitor artifacts, including the ship's steam engine and revolving gun turret, thanks to a partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Navy. NOAA and the Navy recovered the objects in a years-long salvage project.

The full-size reproduction, 173 feet long and more than 41 feet tall, is mounted permanently on posts outside the new USS Monitor wing that will formally open on March 9, 2007.

The museum and its partners have raised more than $26 million toward the center's $30 million cost.

An important contribution came from the Northrop Grumman Newport News Shipyard and its apprentice school, whose employees and apprentices designed and fabricated the Monitor reproduction using material donated by the Navy, officials said.

Nancy Petters, wife of shipyard President Mike Petters, christened the ship by smashing a bottle of wine against a metal bar fixed to the hull at a place where photographers recording the event would also frame the iconic turret.

Cussler, who has used his wealth and energy to find more than 60 historically significant underwater wrecks -- including the Confederate submarine CSS Hunley -- didn't talk much about the Monitor.

Instead, he described the CSS Virginia's bold attack that destroyed two Union frigates on the James River before the Monitor reached the area. The Confederate ship was so successful that its captain was heading back to port that evening certain that he could dispatch the rest of the fleet the following day.

As the light faded, Cussler said, an unusual-looking craft appeared on the horizon.

"The Monitor had arrived," he said. "Thank you."