“The phoenix of the seas is back,” said Lt. Governor Karyn Polito during Saturday’s celebration of the Schooner Ernestina-Morrissey.
The vessel, built in 1894 as a fishing boat, spent her first 11 years fishing out of Gloucester and Nova Scotia. Decades later, Ernestina-Morrissey — formerly Effie M. Morrissey — sailed with Captain Bob Bartlett to within 600 miles of the North Pole and ferried immigrants from Cape Verde to the shores of Massachusetts.
Newly returned to New Bedford Harbor after seven years of restoration work in Boothbay Harbor, Maine, the vessel was welcomed at State Pier by New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell, Polito, Cape Verde Prime Minister Ulisses Correia e Silva and new Captain Tiffany Krihwan.
The Schooner Ernestina-Morrissey, donated to the United States in 1982 as a gift from the State of Cape Verde, Is now ready for a new chapter.
The Schooner Ernestina-Morrissey, donated to the United States in 1982 as a gift from the State of Cape Verde, is now ready for a new chapter of her life. She will serve as a training vessel for the Massachusetts Maritime Academy and in the summer will provide high school and college students with lessons in maritime history.
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