New York's last tall ships - once-proud symbols of the Big Apple's rise to greatness - are in a shameful state of disrepair as the museum that's supposed to care for them sinks in a Bermuda Triangle of debt and bad management, according to an article in today's edition of The New York Post by Bill Sanderson.

"Rotting wood covers their decks, their masts are flaked with rust, and their hulls are corroding," the article said, adding that "Seaport Museum New York has closed its landside galleries and is looking to send its working ships to ports elsewhere for long-term storage."

"The museum's stationary ships - Peking, one of the biggest sailing ships ever built, Wavertree, a three-masted cargo ship, and Ambrose, a lightship that a century ago guided sailors into New York harbor - face an unknown fate. Peking, the Seaport Museum's 100-year-old tall ship, sits docked at South Street Seaport. Its fo'c'sle is closed to the public, and its creaky, battered decks attract few visitors despite the regular swarms of tourists at the port," the article said.

"Those ships, which are emblematic of our heritage on the waterfront, are almost being left to rot," said Roland Lewis, president of the Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance, a coalition of nonprofit groups, the article said.

"Ambrose, built in 1908, is closed," the article said, "because of a leak below its waterline. Wavertree, built in 1885, is also closed and badly in need of repair. On a sunny day last week, the 1911 four-masted Peking was the only vessel open to the public. It was often empty of visitors, despite the tourists thronging South Street Seaport. Those who paid $10 admission saw plywood covering much of her deck, rusting iron masts and water-damaged paneling in the once-elegant captain's salon. The fo'c'sle was closed off by metal sidewalk barriers, and the bowsprit - which points like a lance from the bow toward FDR Drive - is in danger of collapse. A yellowing historic display referred to the early 1900s as 'this century.'"

Seaport Museum's sinking fortunes are a bitter disappointment to the harbor's old salts, who note that port museums in San Francisco, San Diego and Mystic, Conn., are thriving, the article continued, adding that "the museum was drowning in $1.8 million of debt at the end of 2009, its latest IRS filings show. Insiders believe the debt has ballooned since. Half the museum's staff were let go in February."

The article said that "Peter Stanford, who founded the museum in 1967, is rounding up a crew of volunteers and donors to save the ships - but says the museum's current leadership isn't interested in the help. 'They're writing their own epitaph, and it's a sad one,' Stanford said. He believes the museum board and Mary Pelzer, its $124,000-per-year president, are more interested in internal politics and hobnobbing with the city's elite than in the rugged work of recruiting donors and volunteers to keep its facilities shipshape."

The museum declined comment, the article said, except to say it is "exploring various options" to maintain its vessels.

A comment on the article by Michael Fortenbaugh said that "the Pioneer is an important part of NYC's maritime culture. She even led the Tall Ships Parade on behalf of NYC back in 2000. We should not let this NYC Flagship and cultural icon leave the harbor. There are several organizations which could operate Pioneer successfully in the harbor. These include the NY Harbor Sailing Foundation. The Foundation could provide dockage for Pioneer at North Cove in Lower Manhattan."

A comment by Frank Vernuccio, President at Community Action Civic Association, Inc., said that "New York must not lose its maritime history. Bad decisions on the part of the city and state's elites and electeds destroyed our seaport industries, and now they are destroying the last vestiges of our past."