This is Nomadic, the tender of the legendary ship Titanic (and Titanic’s sister ship,
Olympic)at Cherbourg, France.
The Titanic was such a large ship that many ports were not deep enough to allow it to dock directly at a pier
to take on passengers. Such was the case at Cherbourg, wherethe Titanic stopped on its maiden (and only)
voyage to take on new passengers. The boat that accomplished this shuttle service for the Titanic's visit was the
Nomadic, and that is the boat you see here. Many of the 172 passengers who boarded this little boat to
reach the Titanic never returned. A lucky 24 passengers used this boat to disembark at Cherbourg, since they had
only booked as far as that city.
The boat went through several incarnations with a bit of remodeling after it served the Titanic. I once dined
inside, at a time when it was a (fairly good) Japanese restaurant. At one time, you could rent it for special
occasions. Believe it or not, it was said to have a very slow leak (oo-wee-oo!), although it had been
moored here for years and didn't appear to be any lower in the water than it ever was. The last time I saw the
ship, still moored at the same location, it was being torn down in some way and only the hull remained (February
2003). It is currently in Belfast, Northern Ireland, where it has been restored, and now serves as a museum.
