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).