Mike thought it was a good idea and got together with Chief Winters at the office of Congressman Jim Barcia. Several other people joined the group later and they outgrew Congressman Barcia's office. In March 1997, Mike Kegley, Chief Winters and former crew member and plank owner of the C.F. Adams Jim Ruzicka went to the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to look at all the Adams class vessels and select the one in the best condition. It was the guided missile destroyer Charles F. Adams DDG-2. A video tape was made of the tour of the ship that shows the excellent condition of the interior.
Bay City has a history of shipbuilding.
The former Defoe Shipbuilding Company built seven Adams class destroyers - four for the US Navy and three for the Australian Navy. None of the four US Navy destroyers are available. They have been sold to a private concern that has removed the superstructures and is in the process of converting them to power stations to be used on the Amazon River in South America. One of them is presently a power station. The Charles F. Adams is the namesake of the class and was built in Bath, Maine.