Critical efforts to save two historic ships in Philadelphia, the Olympia and the United States, prompts KYW’s Jay Lloyd to suggest a getaway to historic ships that have been saved.

Jay notes that historic ships have created nations and provided the means for them to survive. They can range from dredgers to dreadnoughts.

Unfortunately, many of our nautical heirlooms have fallen into disrepair and are being lost for lack of funding.

Some survive brilliantly. This coming week, on September 10th, the last lightship built for the US Lighthouse service, the Overfalls, will celebrate the completion of an 11-year restoration project in nearby Lewes, Del.

It cost over $1 million, and everyone is invited to go aboard and see the results.

Lightship duty was hazardous, monotonous, and cacophonous. Anchored offshore to guide mariners to shipping lanes, bells would sound, foghorns would blow, and the ship rolled continuously. A duty shift was 28 days.

A visitor will come away with a sense of the sacrifice it took in the days before sophisticated electronic navigation to keep our shipping lanes safe.

For a weekend getaway, Lewes — near Rehoboth Beach — is rich in hotels and restaurants.