The USS Hoga, a surviving tugboat from the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, completed the first leg of its journey to North Little Rock on Monday, docking in San Diego about 3 p.m. CDT.
The Hoga is to eventually join the submarine USS Razorback as part of the Arkansas Inland Maritime Museum in North Little Rock, with a hoped-for arrival in time for a Dec. 7 observance of Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor 74 years ago.
No solid timetable exists, however, museum Executive Director Greg Zonner said Monday.
"We still have to do all the paperwork modifications to the Navy contract and some other things," Zonner said, referring to how the Hoga will be transported.
Previous modifications to the contract approved this summer allowed the Hoga to be "wet towed" from Mare Island to San Diego.
Now, the boat is to be lifted into a cradle on a cargo ship to be "dry towed" to New Orleans, about a 45-day trip.
A "hip tow," where the boat is tied alongside another boat, would then take the Hoga up the Mississippi River and the Arkansas River.
"Now we start working on the heavy lift," Zonner said. "Actually it's two parts: The heavy lift, and we've got to find a tow."
Former North Little Rock Mayor Patrick Hays, who had worked to acquire both the Hoga and the Razorback since about 2000, took some time off from a new position at Centennial Bank in North Little Rock to ride the Hoga from Mare Island to San Diego.
Hays left office in 2012. The trip began Friday afternoon.
"It was an adventure," Hays said from the Hoga about an hour after it reached San Diego. "My bucket list has one less thing on it. We had a little rough seas not 10-15 miles out to sea, but she took it perfect. It's a big step forward. We still aren't there yet.
"We're hopeful we can get her there [North Little Rock] in late November so we'll have her available for Dec. 7," Hays said.
Metro on 09/29/2015