Swiftsure

:"This article is about the United States ship. There have also been several United Kingdom HMS Swiftsure ships."

Infobox_nrhp | name =Lightship No. 83 "Relief"
nrhp_type = nhl

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caption = "Swiftsure", 2007
location= Listed in Kirkland, Washington; now moored in Seattle
lat_degrees = 47 | lat_minutes = 40 | lat_seconds = 29.53 | lat_direction = N
long_degrees = 122 | long_minutes = 12 | long_seconds = 25.52 | long_direction = W
area =
built =1904
architect= New York Ship Co.; US Lighthouse Establishment
architecture=
designated= April 11, 1989cite web|url=http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=1572&ResourceType=Structure
title=Lightship No. 83 RELIEF |accessdate=2007-11-18|work=National Historic Landmark summary listing|publisher=National Park Service]
added = April 23, 1975cite web|url=http://www.nr.nps.gov/|title=National Register Information System|date=2007-01-23|work=National Register of Historic Places|publisher=National Park Service]
governing_body = Private
refnum=75001852 cite web|url=http://www.nr.nps.gov/|title=National Register Information System|date=2007-01-23|work=National Register of Historic Places|publisher=National Park Service]

"Lightship #83", now called "Swiftsure", is a lightvessel launched in Camden, New Jersey, USA in 1904 and now moored in Seattle, Washington. She steamed around the tip of South America to her first station at Blunts Reef in California, where she saved 150 people when their ship ran aground in dense fog. Formerly known as "Relief", Number 83 had numerous names on her sides, all of which indicated the location of her station. "Swiftsure" refers to the Swiftsure Bank near the entrance to the Strait of Juan de Fuca, which separates Washington from Vancouver Island. She also guided ships near Umatilla Reef and the Columbia River Bar.

"Swiftsure" is one of the oldest lightships in the country and the only one to have her original steam engines. She is 129 feet long, with a beam of 28 feet, six inches and a draft of 12 feet, six inches. Her displacement is 668 tons. Her aids to navigation include a 1,000 watt primary light, a 140-decibel Diaphone horn, and a 1,000 pound foredeck fog bell.

The ship was decommissioned in 1960, and purchased by Northwest Seaport in 1969. She is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1989,citation|title=PDFlink| [http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NHLS/Text/89002462.pdf National Register of Historic Places Registration: Lightship No. 83 "Blunts" "San Francisco" "Relief" / Lightship "Relief"] |776 KiB |date=July 9, 1988 |author=James P. Delgado |publisher=National Park Service and PDFlink| [http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NHLS/Photos/89002462.pdf Accompanying 6 photos, from 1988 and undated.] |352 KiB . Note this NRHP text and photos are misfiled under the refnum of a different lightship also named "Relief".] and is on the Washington State Heritage Register. She is moored on Lake Union, in Seattle, Washington, for restoration.

ee also

*Historic preservation
*National Register of Historic Places

Notes

External links

* [http://www.nwseaport.org/swiftsure.html Northwest Seaport] - Lightship Swiftsure
* [http://www.maritimeheritage.net Maritime Heritage Network]
* [http://www.hnsa.org/ships/swiftsure.htm HNSA Ship Page: Lightship "Swiftsure"]
* [http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/hhh.wa0747 Lightship No. 83: 1 photo, 6 drawings, and 5 data pages] , at Historic American Building Survey