Posted on 03/28/2006 1:36:22 PM PST by P-40
GALVESTON - The Elissa, a Galveston waterfront icon for 24 years, sailed into the Gulf of Mexico for the first time Monday with a new designation as the official Tall Ship of Texas.
A three-masted, 202-foot-long sailing ship that delivered a cargo of bananas to Galveston in 1883, the restored vessel was named the official Tall Ship of Texas in a resolution approved by the Texas Legislature in May 2005 and signed by Gov. Rick Perry on June 18. The ship's main mast is 102 feet tall.
"It's a great honor and privilege to be able to operate this vessel," said Capt. Kip Files, a Maine resident and one of the few people in the nation licensed to command a tall sailing vessel such as the Elissa. "It's wonderful to be able to take people out, be safe, and take them back."
The ship took a six-hour voyage offshore of Galveston Monday.
It was found in 1974 in a Greek shipyard and purchased for $40,000 in 1975 by the Galveston Historical Foundation, which owns the vessel. It was towed to Galveston after four years of fundraising and hull repair work.
Experts and volunteers returned the ship to its original 1877 condition in Galveston and it was opened to public tours at Galveston's Pier 22 in 1982 after a restoration costing about $7 million.
Although scores of volunteers spend thousands of hours each year painstakingly maintaining the 129-year-old vessel and about 50,000 people pay to visit the ship at the Texas Seaport Museum annually, the foundation struggles with the expense of maintaining an authentic 19th-century sailing vessel, said Marsh Davis, the historical foundation's executive director.
Costs a concern The foundation is talking to consultants about the feasibility of establishing a multimillion-dollar endowment to help cover maintenance costs, Davis said Monday. No decision to launch an endowment campaign has been made, he said.
"The ship is a wonderful resource but extremely expensive and we want to ensure the long-term future of the vessel as an actual sailing ship," Davis said.
The ship has sailed several days a year most years since 1982. In 1986, Elissa participated in the parade of tall ships from around the world that gathered in New York's harbor to celebrate the centennial of the Statue of Liberty. Elissa had docked in New York in 1884, two years before the statue was erected.
Monday's trip into the Gulf of Mexico was the first of several scheduled trips the ship will make to sea through April 4.
The so-called "day-sails" reward volunteers' work.
"This is an incredible example of maritime history," volunteer Monica Schmiz said of Elissa, at the same time bemoaning the dwindling knowledge of tall-ship handling among present-day mariners due to technological advances. "This is a case in which you use your brain, knowledge of the winds, the seas and the tides."
Volunteer Sharon Varble, a retired air traffic controller, found the deck work hard but rewarding.
"I've always loved to sail and I feel a kinship with it," Varble said of the ship. "It's lovely. But I never thought I'd get so dirty in my life."
The ship, one of only three pre-20th century square-riggers in the U.S. restored to full sailing capability, sails with a licensed captain and officers and a trained volunteer crew. The ship has been declared a National Historic Landmark.
Built in Scotland The three-masted square-rigger was built in Aberdeen, Scotland, and spent 20 years delivering cargos around the world as a British merchant ship before being sold in 1897 to a Norwegian company and being renamed the Fjeld. In 1911, the ship was sold again, renamed the Gustav and handed down through a series of Swedish, Finnish and Greek owners.
In the 1950s, the vessel was known to have been used to smuggle untaxed cigarettes between Italy and the former Yugoslavia, then later taken out of service and docked in Greece.
Chronicle Suburban Editor Pete McConnell contributed to this report.
kevin.moran@chron.com
Needs pics.
Thanks. I could not remember how to post a picture.
Very cool, for a landlubber like me.
I've been aboard her several times. (You have to buy a ticket, but there's no tour. You just wander around where you want.)
Very cool ship. She traded mostly in cotton.
Woo Hoo! What a beautiful ship!
Wonder how they find folks to work the sails... Don't think I could ever climb the ratlines work out across a spar.
Then think about doin' it in a storm!
That would have been back in the early to mid 80's I think, because I was then a Captain in the USAF Reserve, and seeing that Flag was more than a little unsettling.
How beautiful! Thanks for the post. I wonder what the names of the other early operating sailing ships are?
I know the Kalmar Nyckel is docked somewhere near Philadelphia, but I think that it is a modern reproduction of the ship that brought the Swedes to New Sweden (including one of my ancestors) in the 1640s. I know it sails to other ports, but it probably doesn't qualify as pre-20th century. It is a very pretty ship, however.
always nice to read some good news...on a "bad" news day.
The Texas Navy grows and grows...
If you ever have an opportunity to attend a Tall Ships festival -- take it!
I thought it was bad form to rename ships.
... The Tall Ship Lady Washington docks here in Coupeville WA occasionally and she's staffed with many volunteers along with a permanent crew. I've watched them many times going up and down those ropes...it's a wonderful sight for sure.
I was seasick for three days. Nonetheless, it was a great experience.
Star of India in San Diego was built in the 19th century and still sails, I believe. Most of the others are modern reproductions.
I worked on the Ellissa in 86-87. Really a great experience.
Amazing how it feels to be up in the tops when is is rolling back and forth. A beautiful thing.
Ping!
PING
hey! Cool... thanks for the ping.
The Rose was used to film "Master and Commander" - it was of course 'renamed' The Surprise - and during the film, 'renamed' again as Syrene.
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