After 11 years, she was laid up in 1923 and in 1926 was sold to the Zoological Society[?] of San Diego, California, to be the centerpiece of a planned museum and aquarium. However, the Great Depression and World War II caused that plan to be canceled; it wasn't until 1957 that her restoration began. Alan Villiers, a windjammer[?] captain and author, came to San Diego on a lecture tour. Seeing the Star decaying in the harbor, he publicized the situation and inspired a group of citizens to form the Star of India Auxiliary in 1959 to support the restoration of the ship. Progress was still slow, but in 1976, the Star of India put to sea again.
Primarily a museum ship, the Star of India is the world's oldest ship that is still seaworthy. (The USS Constitution is afloat in Boston Harbor and the USS Constellation in Baltimore's Inner Harbor, but rarely sail under their own power.)
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