Tall Ship Elissa

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This afternoon, I had the pleasure of escorting my children and grandchildren over to Pier 22 to tour the Texas Seaport Museum and see its star attraction, the tall ship Elissa, a three-mast barque and one of the oldest ships sailing today.

Andrew, age 8

Andrew, age 8

Alexandra, age 10

Alexandra, age 10

As eager as we were to see all the offerings of the museum, we were - admittedly - distracted by the gift shop right inside the entrance. As gift shops go, this one rates high! We saw lot of unique souvenirs for the kids (of all ages), but also many high-end, maritime-related books and maps, etc. We all found things we wanted to purchase and take home, and on our way out today, we stopped back in to present the plastic.

Once inside the museum, we took a self-guided tour and watched an engaging 20-minute video documentary that tells the story of Elissa’s rescue from the scrap yard and her detailed restoration.

We learned Elissa started out as a British cargo ship, taking several voyages to smaller ports in the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico, and she twice loaded cotton at Galveston. This local connection prompted the Galveston Historical Foundation to purchase the ship in 1982 and undertake a dramatic restoration.

The Texas Seaport Museum also showcases the legacy of maritime commerce and immigration. One of its popular attractions is its database exhibit, where visitors can search the names of more than 133,000 immigrants who entered the country through Galveston, once known as the Ellis Island of the West.

In this area of the museum, one wall featured a mural that depicted 19th century Galveston. And, placed nearly were a variety of coats and hats of the same vintage for visitors to put on and pose for the cameras. This offering proved to be a hit with my crew. Before we left, most of us had “stepped back in time” for fun. (Included here are photos I took of m own beloved grandkids, Alexandra and Andrew.)

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Elissa’s Story
Elissa was built in Aberdeen, Scotland as a merchant vessel, named for the niece of Henry Fowler Watt, her first owner. She was fist launched on October 27, 1877.

Elissa also sailed under Norwegian and Swedish flags. In 1918, she was converted into a two-masted brigantine, and an engine was installed. She was sold to Finland in 1930 and reconverted into a schooner. In 1959, she was sold to Greece, and successively sailed under the names Christophoros, in 1967 as Achaeos, and in 1969 as Pioneer.

In 1970, she was rescued from destruction in Piraeus after being purchased for the San Francisco Maritime Museum. However, she languished in a salvage yard in Piraeus until she was purchased for $40,000, in 1975, by the Galveston Historical Foundation. In 1979, after a year in Greece having repairs done to her hull, Elissa was first towed to Gibraltar. There, she was prepared for an ocean tow by Captain Jim Currie of the New Orleans surveyors J.K. Tynan International. The restoration process continued until she was ready for tow on June 7, 1979.

Elissa has an iron hull, and the pin rail and bright work is made of teak. Her masts are Douglas fir from Oregon, and her 19 sails were made in Maine. She has survived numerous modifications, including installation of an engine, and the incremental removal of all her rigging and masts.

Elissa made her first voyage as a restored sailing ship in 1985, traveling to Corpus Christi, Texas. A year later, she sailed to New York City to take part in the Statue of Liberty’s centennial celebrations.

In July 2011, the U.S. Coast Guard declared Elissa  "not seaworthy." An inspection revealed a corroded hull.

After getting the bad news, the Texas Seaport Museum raised the $3 million needed for hull replacement and other long-overdue maintenance projects. All was finished in January 2013, and Elissa returned to sailing once again in March 2014.