A response to ELISSA being included on Fyddeye America’s 10 Most Endangered Historic Ships of 2011

I spent a lot of time yesterday responding to this "endangered" vessel list , instead of doing productive things toward her upcoming rehabilitaion. I know that whoever thought that including ELISSA on such a list would be helpful - it really is not. It is very frustrating to be working with a great group of shipmates toward a defined and reachable goal and then be confronted with headlines and sound bites decrying the “unseaworthiness” of ELISSA’s hull. While ELISSA’s hull has been burdened with repairs to correct unforeseen and unanticipated electrolytic corrosion, she is far from “endangered”. To see ELISSA appear between the two bookends of Wapama and Falls of Clyde is a gross disservice. Those vessels along with a majority of the vessels on the “endangered” list were victims of bureaucratic bungling, lack of adequate planning, lack of knowledge or incompetence among other ills. ELISSA has been well cared for and is iconic in the field of maritime preservation. Inclusion on this list is a big disservice to those who have cared for her over the years.

There are many inaccuracies in the reporting about the corrosion issues with ELISSA. Kurt and I have discussed these at length and I would now like to give rebuttal to the erroneous reporting of the facts:

1.) The corrosion of ELISSA’s hull plates was first discovered by Texas Seaport Museum staff, not the Coast Guard, who immediately recognized that they had a highly unusual circumstance on their hands. They were concerned enough to bring Kurt Voss, past director of ELISSA, to Galveston from Tampa, to verify that the type of corrosion they found was something we had never seen before. We also enlisted the aid of two highly-qualified volunteers from the American Bureau of Shipping, who had been deeply involved in the ship’s 2006 dry-docking.

2.) These discoveries were made last January, during the ship’s twice-every-five-years dry-docking--a schedule that has been adhered to since 1981. At every dry-docking the hull has been gone over very thoroughly and has never shown any indication that would have warned of the extent of electrolytic corrosion discovered at the last dry-docking in January 2011.

3.) The deterioration of the hull plates was the result of electrolytic corrosion, most likely caused by stray currents in the water due to damage to the shore-side electrical service of the museum and adjacent restaurant caused by Hurricane Ike. The damage found was definitely not the usual electrochemical self-corrosion (“rust”), nor was it galvanic corrosion.

4.) I ahve been seeking advice from a panel of ship preservation experts from across the globe about how best to make the necessary repairs, with the aim of preserving as much of the original 1877 iron as possible. Several of the members of this group include Kurt Voss, Walter Rybka, Doug Maclean, and myself – all of us very familiar with ELISSA and her maintenance history

5.) Galveston Historical Foundation has formed a capital campaign to raise the repair costs, led by a group of community leaders, GHF staff, and professional fundraisers. To date, nearly $200,000 has been raised.

6.) Plans to dry-dock ELISSA this summer and have her sailing by the fall are still very much on track.

7.) When Kurt Voss was aboard the ELISSA on December 26, he remarked that “she looked the best I’ve seen her in years. Nearly all the varnish had been recently refinished, paint was fresh above and below decks, running rigging was in great shape, and the entire ship was neat and orderly”. The ship’s volunteer program, long a national standard, has obviously risen to the occasion are taking good care of ELISSA while the funds are raised to get her sailing again.

8.) And finally from the “endangered” vessel article – “U.S. Coast Guard found severe hull deterioration and declared the ship unseaworthy, and thus unable to earn her keep.” I want to state in the strongest terms that at NO time has ELISSA ever carried passengers for hire or relied on her annual sea-trials to earn her keep.

Kurt and I know that these endangered lists can bring much-needed attention to ships that are facing profound challenges. We fear, though, that ELISSA’s inclusion on this latest list may have done a disservice to an organization and a program that are making diligent progress to make repairs caused by a natural disaster, not by neglect.

Keep ELISSA Sailing

ELISSA and the music tree

Shipmates,

Last Monday marked the 134th anniversary of ELISSA’s maiden voyage from Cardiff, Wales to Pernambuco, Brazil. ELISSA’s cargo on her outbound maiden voyage was coal – a ubiquitous cargo that found its way into the holds of many a fine ship. What I find interesting is the cargo she loaded for her return passage to Great Britain several months later. On February 28, 1878 she had a cargo of lumber from Pernambuco bound for Greenock, but not just any lumber – she loaded lumber from Brazil’s music tree, the perambuco, the source of the finest bows for violins, cellos and violas in the world. Most musicians of that time and today eschew any other type of material for their bows in favor of the traditional pernambuco wood bows because of their "feel" on the strings. The pernambuco tree was also renowned for the beautiful rich red dye that was extracted from its limbs and root ball.

Today the pernambuco tree is one of the most endangered trees in the world, almost as rare as ELISSA and her few remaining riveted iron sisters. Most serious musicians and virtuosi insist that no other wood or modern material can come close to the organic and resonating feel of a perambuco bow upon tuned strings. And nothing can be more essential to expressing the true soul of a sailing ship than the interplay of the wind and rigging. I know everyone who has laid aloft on ELISSA while she is under sail can attest to this notion. When you are aloft you can feel the life blood of the ship pulsing through the rigging like arteries carrying the life giving wind to all parts of the vessel. Sometimes one can feel the rigging and spars pumping lightly as if the ship was breathing. Those of us lucky enough to have experienced the very breath of ELISSA high aloft in her rigging or feeling the deck heave in joyful sighs as she scuds to windward know what a rare gem we are all entrusted with protecting. I think that the following words written by Leonardo da Vinci can be true of all of us who have tasted sailing aboard ELISSA:

For once you have tasted flight,
You will walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward;
For there you have been,
And there you long to return.

I want to thank everyone who brought a gift last Saturday evening for the “gifts for ELISSA” fun muster. We had a wonderful evening, with good food and bagpipes piping the Sun to sleep, and collected over $3,000.00 toward the ongoing maintenance of ELISSA. Please also know that I am very thankful for the greatest gift of all – your time – as a crew member of ELISSA. Without these gifts of time, of money, of donations in kind we could not experience ELISSA as she longs to be known… as a graceful barque underway.

Happy Holidays to all of you and a warm huzzah from your ship

Fair leads,

Jamie



James L. White
Director

Texas Seaport Museum / 1877 Barque ELISSA
Pier 21, Number 8
Galveston, TX 77550
409-763-1877
409-763-3037 FAX
www.tsm-elissa.org

"Of all the living creatures upon land and sea, it is ships alone that cannot be
taken in by barren pretences, that will not put up with bad art from their masters"
(Joseph Conrad ~ Mirror of the Sea).