Sometime, someplace on Craigslist, ship devotee Chris Willson found the typical Craigslist advertisement, and in 2008 bought the 294-foot cruise ship Aurora. After almost 15 years of intensive restoration work and more than $1 million as the sunk Willson is devastated ship. As he mourns the once lofty dreams for its resurrection.
After experiencing an indescribably beautiful sunrise his first morning on board, Willson chose to rename the boat Aurora. It quickly became a true passion project for him and his now decades-long partner, Jin Li. His experience with the ship became much more than a private undertaking. Willson chronicled the restoration process on his YouTube channel. Through this process he shared ongoing updates and critically sought to engage a community of maritime enthusiasts.
Over the years, Willson encountered many trials, including being served with “three-day notices to quit” multiple times. The local authorities never issued an eviction, and he was able to continue working on the vessel. Even with these disappointments, he was still optimistic on turning the Aurora into an arts and culture museum and preserving the Aurora’s historical legacy.
In October 2023, circumstances made it necessary for Willson to sell the Aurora. The decision weighed heavily on him, as he had poured his life and heart into the ship. After shepherding the ship through so many challenges, he was crushed to find out that she would eventually go down in flames.
“I just didn’t let go of it,” said Willson, who held onto the idea for 15 years. Then, I completely gave up hope of ever working on such a project again. Beyond guilt, though, was a sense of failure—an overwhelming regret at not having saved the ship. It’s devastating when I wasn’t able to just hop back in there and rescue it,” he added.
For Willson, the connection to the Aurora went deeper than just its physical structure. It embodied decades of toil and devotion. He would later write movingly of the near-misses that came as collateral damage with all the successful restoration work. There were so many near misses with that ship,” he sighed. “We were so close to having the right people and the right vision and the right leadership to save that ship for hundreds, maybe thousands, more generations.”
On Willson’s watch, the Aurora experienced three relocations. It traveled from the California delta town of Rio Vista to San Francisco’s Pier 38. In 2012 he relocated the ship to the California Delta. It rolled up to Herman & Helen’s Marina on Little Potato Slough.
As years went by and problems piled up, Willson began to experience his own mental health struggles. He, too, ultimately chose to withdraw from the project, convinced that it had grown too big and unwieldy. It just got very, very technical for me. More importantly, he prioritized his mental health and decided to step down. Now, he just wants to look ahead, find another project, maybe go in a new direction with his life.
Even as he left active restoration efforts behind, Willson never lost a protective touch over the Aurora. He thought that if he hadn’t gone to the rescue by buying it, the ship would probably have sunk without a trace. “If I would have known it would have gone this way, I would have hung in there,” he lamented.
Willson’s frustration is evident as he recounts the ship’s loss. The tidal wave of public anger directed at him personally only deepens the emotional toll he carries. “Such cuts are unacceptable,” he claimed. “I didn’t produce the big heap of crap, I just made sure to take care of it.” He reminded anyone who’s mad at him, their ire is pointed in the wrong direction, and he concluded with the reminder that Stockton has lost a giant.
As Willson starts to look back on his years with the Aurora. While their ship’s sinking brought them personal heartbreak, he said he wouldn’t exchange that experience for anything. It was not always an easy experience, and I wouldn’t trade the experience for anything,” he said.
