Md. Will Try to Sell State Yacht on EBay

[Viperpirate]

ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- For sale: Yacht. May need work. Seller eager to unload.

The state-owned Maryland Independence, built for the Canadian Navy during World War II and refurbished in the 1970s as a pleasure vessel, is going up for bids on eBay.

Gov. Robert Ehrlich is unloading the yacht to keep a promise made during his gubernatorial campaign last year.

"The governor felt it was not an efficient use of money even in good times," said Paul Schurick, Ehrlich's communications director. The annual operating costs of about $230,000 "can be used for other purposes," he said.

The auction begins Thursday and bidding will continue for 10 days, said Henry Fawell, an Ehrlich spokesman.

Maryland is not alone in using the Internet to sell state surplus.

State and local governments across the country are turning to eBay to auction off all kinds of surplus and confiscated goods, including automobiles, jail bunk beds, books, DVDs and even roof lights from police patrol cars, USA Today reported Monday.

The 112-foot Maryland yacht carries up to 35 passengers and can accommodate 75 people for parties while docked. Maryland bought the boat for $636,000 plus the trade-in of a 50-foot yacht in 1986.

Asked why the sale was being made on eBay rather than through one of the yacht brokers located in Annapolis, Ehrlich said it was "one of Schurick's good ideas."

Schurick said there are millions of potential buyers on eBay, giving the state a much wider audience than would be available through a broker.

While Ehrlich criticized the yacht during the campaign, he said in July that a state yacht can help economic development officials attract businesses to Maryland.

He's hoping that someone will donate a smaller yacht that would be less expensive to operate. In the meantime, the Maryland Port Administration has a yacht the state can use to entertain guests.

Copyright © 2003, The Associated Press

[El Pirata]

ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- For sale: Yacht. May need work. Seller eager to unload.

The state-owned Maryland Independence, built for the Canadian Navy during World War II and refurbished in the 1970s as a pleasure vessel, is going up for bids on eBay.

Gov. Robert Ehrlich is unloading the yacht to keep a promise made during his gubernatorial campaign last year.

"The governor felt it was not an efficient use of money even in good times," said Paul Schurick, Ehrlich's communications director. The annual operating costs of about $230,000 "can be used for other purposes," he said.

The auction begins Thursday and bidding will continue for 10 days, said Henry Fawell, an Ehrlich spokesman.

Maryland is not alone in using the Internet to sell state surplus.

State and local governments across the country are turning to eBay to auction off all kinds of surplus and confiscated goods, including automobiles, jail bunk beds, books, DVDs and even roof lights from police patrol cars, USA Today reported Monday.

The 112-foot Maryland yacht carries up to 35 passengers and can accommodate 75 people for parties while docked. Maryland bought the boat for $636,000 plus the trade-in of a 50-foot yacht in 1986.

Asked why the sale was being made on eBay rather than through one of the yacht brokers located in Annapolis, Ehrlich said it was "one of Schurick's good ideas."

Schurick said there are millions of potential buyers on eBay, giving the state a much wider audience than would be available through a broker.

While Ehrlich criticized the yacht during the campaign, he said in July that a state yacht can help economic development officials attract businesses to Maryland.

He's hoping that someone will donate a smaller yacht that would be less expensive to operate. In the meantime, the Maryland Port Administration has a yacht the state can use to entertain guests.

Copyright © 2003, The Associated Press

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