Karl Kortum; Internationally Known Marine Preservationist

Karl Kortum, 79, internationally known conservator of ships. Dubbed “America’s foremost marine preservationist” by broadcaster and sailor Walter Cronkite, Kortum helped found the World Ship Trust and the National Maritime Historical Society. His flagship accomplishment was the San Francisco Maritime Historical Park, a collection of seven ships tied up near Fisherman’s Wharf that includes the 110-year-old Balclutha and the ferry Eureka. However, ships he helped save from the scrap heap can he seen in several cities: the Falls of Clyde in Honolulu, the Great Britain in Bristol, England, the Wavertree in New York, the Elissa in Galveston, Texas, and the Moshulu in Philadelphia. A former commercial seaman, Kortum served in the Merchant Marine during World War II. He was a crew member of the old sailing ship Kaiulani and gave the order to furl its sails for the last time, marking the final voyage of an American merchant ship under sail. On Thursday in San Francisco of heart disease.