ELISSA Redivivus ~ 2012 Restoration

ELISSA Redivivus ~ 2012 Restoration

 

Shipmates,

Ships have never been built for posterity, and to find ELISSA still sailing is beyond remarkable and a signal of her significance as a survivor from the Great Age of Sail. That is only half of the story, for the balance of ELISSA’s tale is found in each of you…her crew. Sailing ships are large complex machines with a limited life-span of consumptive use, and although they have inspired affection and sometimes wonderment in the hearts of sailors and shorebound souls, it is only quite recently that they have come to be seen as salient icons of our vanishing maritime heritage. 

The decision as to how best to preserve, restore, or rehabilitate a vessel is a complex one that needs to take into account a wide range of factors.  Most museum ships are stationary, either on shore or afloat; only a couple of museum ships are operational.  A major benefit to keeping a preserved and historic vessel operational is that it allows it to be exhibited within its historical context of skills and craft.  Keeping a vessel operational significantly expands the scope of a museum by preserving the skills of operation and maintenance, in addition to helping maintain the artifact itself.  The restoration, operation and maintenance of historic vessels require skills that are rare and no longer readily available off-the-shelf.  Shipyard workers are no different and this refit will reintroduce them to riveting and to welding wrought iron to modern mild steel, and many other tasks that will be needed in the upcoming years to "Keep ELISSA Sailing."  By sailing annually, ELISSA is creating a supply of skilled and experienced square-rigged sailors that can help maintain and preserve ELISSA or go on to assist with other ships and projects.  Sailing ELISSA is a vital part and a central component of the mission of TSM.

 Setting a course for Bollinger Shipyard, Texas City

On September 10, 2012 ELISSA departed Pier 21 in Galveston and motored to Bollinger Shipyard in Texas City to begin the voyage that will add years to ELISSA’s life and legacy by beginning ELISSA’s second restoration or rebirth. ELISSA has been mute these last many months, but soon with your dedicated help and the focused work of skilled shipyard workers, ELISSA will speak again with every taut sheet and resonant halyard. I want to write about the upcoming shipyard efforts that will give renewed voice to ELISSA.  In this blog, I will chronicle the shipyard activities and attempt to document the work aboard ELISSA as it progresses.  I want to have this as a photo montage of the sights and sounds of ELISSA's second restoration, for it truly is a second rebirth and one that will help in preserving the ELISSA experience for future generations of sailors, dreamers, and others who find themselves aboard the decks of one of mankind's most graceful creations ~ a square-rigged sailing ship.


Monday September 10, 2012



Under the command of Captain Jan Miles and the assistance of chief mate Chris Welton and ELISSA's ship's company of volunteer crew, ELISSA departed Pier 21 and arrived a couple of hours later at Bollinger shipyard, Texas City.

After the dry-dock was re-floated, ELISSA's fine underwater profile was revealed in all its graceful curves...even if she was fouled with an assortment of oysters, barnacles and other slimy denizens of the deep.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The amount of fouling surprised us and even with those blemishes of fouling...there is no denying her graceful hull shape.  The craftsmen of her Aberdeen, Scotland builders, Alexander Hall & Co.,  created a sculpture in wrought iron.

 

 



 

 

 



Tuesday September 11, 2012

The first order of business was to pressure wash all the marine growth and paint from the underwater section of the hull.  The shipyard used an ultra-high pressure hydro-blaster machine which produced a pressure of almost 40,000 psi at the nozzle head.  This machine cut through the bottom paint and growth while at the same time cleaning out any salts and chlorides in the bottom plating.  The job took several days, but Bollinger Shipyard had the hull ready for the planned Friday morning inspection of hull plates by the Coast Guard.

 

 

The 40,000 psi cleaned the iron and steel shell plating exceptionally well and revealed the areas of corrosion first discovered at last year's dry-docking.  It exposed some further areas of corrosion that were not exposed at last year's dry-docking, when we used a less aggressive and less costly method. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Friday September 14, 2012 

Friday morning at 10:00 a.m., Chief Warrant Officer (CWO) Scott Woods and Todd Grove and his colleagues from ABS ( American Bureau of Shipping)  arrived for a first look at the cleaned bottom plating. 

 

 

 

In the afternoon, CWO Woods selected a piece of original iron hull plating to be cropped out and sent for chemical composition and strength testing as well as being radiographed.

 

 

The yellow marks above outline the section of bottom plate that will be removed and sent to a lab for testing.

 

 

The following three photos illustrate some of the rivet corrosion that will be addressed toward the end of the project, after all the plate work has been completed.

 

 

 

 

 

A couple of worn rivet points and some previously ring-welded rivet points and a butt joint in the garboard strake.

 

These rivets and a majority of the others on ELISSA are repairable, according to Terry Jagielski of Hansen Industries in Toledo, Ohio (an expert in rivet repairs).  Terry took a look at the exposed rivet points and will be back toward the end of the project to repair rivets damaged by the same electrolytic corrosion that attacked the shell plating as a result of Hurricane Ike.  The rivet repair will follow the guidelines outlined in the Coast Guard's NVIC 7-01

 

 

Monday September 17, 2012

 

The wrought iron bottom shell plate identified for testing by CWO Woods was cut out first thing in the morning.

 

 

 

Other than some surface scale, the inside of the plate was in pretty good condition.

 

Tuesday September 18, 2012

It turned out to be a lot more difficult than anyone imagined to write up a specification and protocol for radiography of the historic iron plate.  Since the plate has naturally occurring silica in the form of slag layers, the x-ray may show hidden patches of corrosion that are actually just slag lines.  Todd Grove and his colleagues from ABS worked on writing a specification and went as far afield as contacting a professor from the Colorado School of Mines as well as an iron expert in Yorkshire, England.  It took several days, but by Friday morning, September 21, 2012 we were able to have CWO Woods take a look and approve the specification.

 

While we were awaiting the x-ray specification, we painted the frame locations on the hull for easier identification during surveying and planning which plates needed renewal and which could be repaired.

 

 

 

 

The yard removed the tail shaft for inspection.

 

The tail shaft ready to be dressed and inspected.

 

 

One of the questions we have is how to remove the cement in the bilge of ELISSA.  Monty Bludworth, general manager of the Texas City Bollinger Shipyard, thought the ultra-high pressure hydro-blaster would do the job.  Walter Rybka told me that removing the cement in the bilges was back breaking and very time consuming.  The hydro-blaster left this result after only a minute's work.

 

 

On the left side of the above photo is a butt backing plate, then cement, then frame 45 (notice the rivets) and then the hole cut into the cement by the hydro-blaster.  The cement debris was hot to the touch...that is a lot of water pressure!

...and very noisy

 

 

 

Wednesday September 20, 2012

We cannot start any repair or renewals to the wrought iron shell plating until we get the test results and approval to proceed from the Coast Guard.  While we are waiting, there is the ordinary dry-dock work needed for ELISSA's official file.  This includes removing all the valve stems from all underwater valves, inspecting the cutlass bearing and tail shaft, etc. 

 

 

 

To avoid slowing down work, I directed the yard to begin looking at plate renewals and repairs to the modern mild steel plate. ELISSA has around 70% of her original iron and over the years had a lot of repairs and replacements in mild steel plate. During the original restoration in Greece, over 50 tons of wrought iron plating was renewed with modern mild steel plate. It would be great if wrought iron plate was available, but unfortunately it is only available in very small quantities and nowhere near the amounts ELISSA requires. Here is an interesting web page on one of the large small suppliers of wrought iron. I have spoke with them at length about ELISSA's wrought iron and they have been very helpful. Real Wrought Iron Company

 

 

 Below is an area of electrolytic corrosion that has been opened up by the hydro-blaster.  It is in a section of riveted steel plate.  ELISSA was in several collisions with piers (and other things that go "bump"), and was repaired with the new material called steel at several times while under Scandinavian ownership.

 



 

Monty is marking for the anticipated insert.  What begins as a small hole can grow into a much larger one.  Notice the "doubler" plate we put on at the last dry-dock directly below his right hand.  This is like a band-aid welded to the plate and is solely a temporary repair.  This is why he is starting the drawing for the cut so far abaft the hole in front of the zinc anode.



 
To the left is another one of the areas of corrosion that was discovered during Elissa's last dry docking.  This is in welded steel plate and will be repaired with a welded insert.  Inserts are a repair that is considered permanent and stout.  The minimum area to be removed for an insert is 18" x 18" inches and it must span a frame.  Even though this hole is the size of your fingernail, an insert of 18" x 18" will be necessary to repair the corrosion damage.

Another bit of damage is the delamination of some of the iron as seen below.  Wrought iron is not homogeneous like steel and is formed with layers of iron and slag.  Corrosion has attacked this section of plate and delaminated it requiring another type of repair - clad welding.  Clad welding is where a puddle of steel is welded into the void.  If the divot or void is too large, an insert may be required.  All these repair scenarios may be suggested by us or the yard, but the Coast Guard has the final say as to whether we can use an insert versus just clad welding a repair.  Clad welding is a lot less expensive.

There are certainly a lot of varying and different textures and colors on ELISSA.

Here is a hole from corrosion just abaft the forward collision bulkhead of ELISSA.  This is another candidate for an insert repair.

 While Monty was marking out for the insert on the port bow, on the starboard bow the shipyard took readings with an audio-gauge to determine the plate thickness.  This works well on steel plate, but is ineffective on iron due to the inclusions of slag that naturally occur in wrought iron.  The ultrasonic signal will bounce of the slag and give a false reading.  A touch of a grinder is used to clean off any rust and then a smear of a Vaseline-like jelly is applied - it is a lot like a sonogram for the ship.  The readings in yellow are plate thicknesses.







 

Some areas do not require an audio gauge to determine they are quite thin, as shown by this bolt passed through a hole in "A" strake.




 Once the area is marked out for cutting, a welder with a cutting torch steps in and begins cutting away. 

I was very impressed with the level of workmanship and metal artistry exhibited by the Bollinger welders.  Above is Lorenzo Pena demonstrating years of expertise with a cutting torch - a beautiful striaght cut. 



 

 



 

 

Friday September 21, 2012

CWO Scott Woods, on the right, came by the ship to inspect the holes that were cut in the port and starboard bow for the use of an insert repair.  He and Monty measured plate thickness at the lip of the cuts, and it was decided to extend the bottom cut several inches to have thicker plate available for the welding in of the insert.

 

 

 

All the final cuts will have a radius to relieve the concentration of stresses on the plate at the corners.  A radius is being marked by a worker.

 

 

 

For the most part, the frames are in remarkable condition after 135 years.  I hope the frames aft and midships are in as good condition as these following photos show.

 

The flange and angle on this frame is over 1/4" thick, as is apparent from looking at the rivet hole.

 

 The exposed frames appeared usable and will not require replacement - only a little reforming of the angled flange.  The new plate will be welded along both sides of the frame and the rivet holes plug welded to the backside of the insert plate.  The entire plate insert will be welded around the full perimeter of the cut-out on both the outside and inside of the ship making for a full 100% penetration weld.  A very strong repair.

 

For anyone interested in how we will be repairing the vessel, the procedures and specifications are found in this USCG document NVIC 7-68.  It is a very interesting read and one of a dozen references we will be using throughout this current restoration.

 

 

At the end of each weekly update every Saturday while ELISSA is in shipyard I would like to have a contest for her crew.  Anyone who has over 20 hours of volunteer work aboard ELISSA is eligible to enter.  For additional details click the link below:

 

*Please take a look at the "What Is It? Contest! and give a try at winning an ELISSA giclee*

What Is It? Contest!

 Please visit again for future updates - I will try to update this blog several times a week and definitely every Saturday.

 

Fair leads...

 

Jamie

Shipmates,

2012 Plankowners’ Party!!! I hope we see as many of ELISSA’s crew in attendance as possible! This year’s event is shaping up to be a very special one, with ELISSA’s approaching dry-docking and hull work along with the long anticipated TSM pier 21 rebuild beginning at last. As we are all aware, Plankowners’ is our big fundraising event of the year and is an important source of revenue for daysails and in supporting the on-going maintenance needs of the ship. 

It is also a time to show off our ship and the fine people ELISSA calls crew. Not only ELISSA will be on show this Saturday evening, but all of us…her crew will be center stage as well. Ed Green mentions in this week’s newsletter that all working crewmembers are expected to be in ELISSA royal blue shirts and khaki long pants – please no shorts. I want to remind everyone that if you are working during Plankowners’ to refrain from the consumption of alcoholic beverages. If you are not on watch or have paid as a guest, please enjoy the fruits of the vine, but if not - then please remember to show the proper decorum and respect by refraining from hoisting a glass while on duty. With the expectation of pleasant weather, we may set a number of sails and it would be good to have some crew alert and sober to hand canvas.

I want to thank all of you for doing a yeoman’s job with this year’s Plankowners’ Party and Auction. It has been a bit of a challenge with the new venue, but I have not heard any complaining and you all have my gratitude. Next year we will have Plankowners’ with a newly fixed up site and a freshly repaired ship, so let’s make the most of this year’s event – it may be the only time we have Plankowners’ with ELISSA alongside Pier 21! Having ELISSA front and center at Pier 21 will make for a very memorable event. I am very excited about auctioning off a piece of ELISSA’s original hull plating with a section of frame attached. We had the hull plate section grit blasted with sugar to reveal all the detail without removing the surface features of the plate. One can read the date 1877 stamped into the frame piece. We are going to have it in the live auction as the last available hull plate – number 318 out of 318 and it is a work of art a true ship fitter’s sculpture.

In past preambles to the newsletter I have often quoted from Joseph Conrad. In the spirit of mixing things up, much like this year’s Plankowners’, I thought I would close with a quote and request

Here is the quote from My Ship O’ Dreams by Robert Rose:

“Ships are the nearest things to dreams that hands have ever made, for somewhere deep in their oaken hearts the soul of a song is laid.”

…and the request:

for all of you to enjoy our ship and each other with a song in your hearts and a sea story in our souls.

Even a layman can see the fine lines in ELISSA’s hull and they will be on full display along with her crew – a group of incredibly talented people from varied backgrounds all coming together to ensure ELISSA is well loved. What fortunate people we are to have one of the most beautiful things on this planet to play with, a beautiful square-rigger. While I admit there have been some days where I shake my head after a long day of contrary winds, there is NEVER a morning I do not find a smile swayed aloft in my heart every time I see ELISSA glow in the light of a new day’s morning. Like one of the true clipper ships of old, she is a Herald of the Morning. The greatest author and recorder of the Sea, Captain Joseph Conrad, was master of a ship very much like ELISSA, and best summed up his feelings about her and captured our love of ELISSA in a single line:

“It is good to be in a world in which she has her being”

Thank you all for “being” in ELISSA’s world, too, and forgive me for not being able to resist the pull of a fine Conrad quote.

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).

Dear Shipmates,

Well, it has been a long haul amidst a wake of blisters since sail training began, but we have a vessel and crew we can all take pride in. Thank you all for your hard work and dedication – you all have my respect and admiration. Since we moved ELISSA to Pier 21, I have heard many comments about how beautiful she looks, how she graces Galveston’s waterfront, how much longer she appears than at her other berth, and many other comments. All of the comments have at their center the truth that ELISSA is a work of art in wrought iron and wood. Of all the creations made to move our spirits, fine hulled lofty ships are the noblest creatures poised on that fine line between the divine and human design. We are all helping in creating this continuing work of art…ELISSA.

Ships graceful as ELISSA have lit up and awakened the hearts and spirits of people through the ages. Our souls, our shared spirits and our humanity are buoyed with each pull upon a halyard and every awakening sail spread out upon her spars. It is not just us, a fortunate few, who look upon this beauty. Look into the eyes of visitors ashore along the pier and promenade and see the marvel of our creation, our ELISSA, in their eyes. I very much enjoy speaking to visitors awed by the beauty and spectacle of sail training and the art and grace you all create during each sail training weekend. They often ask me what it is like “up there” or how beautiful ELISSA looks amongst many other questions and comments. Those lucky people watching from ashore are being treated to a performance in which there is poetry in every buntline.

Ships companies are communities isolated from the rest of the world outside the bulwarks and topgallant rails. We have our own language and customs not found ashore. We all find common purpose in working for the ship, our ship, our ELISSA. Our fears and foibles are mixed with our shipmates and alloyed with our combined strengths, passions, and joys to form a metal as noble and stout as any bitt or bollard. With our shipmates at our side, we can reach goals and attain heights we could otherwise never accomplish. Remember your first time aloft, or any other challenge aboard ship, and the reassuring voices of your shipmates. We delight in our successes…and we have had many. Those who struggle together with respect and common vision can accomplish feats seemingly impossible under ordinary conditions. Your shipmates are a source of strength.

We are almost at the end of this year’s sail training and maybe it is time for a reminder from me about your shipmates. I have heard of several occasions where crew was not responsive to the commands and requests of mast captains and foreman. We have a hierarchy aboard for the safe and efficient operation of the ship. It can only work if we all follow requests and orders from your mast captain, work foreman and SOC.

We have our biggest event of the year outside daysails next weekend. It is vital that we all work together and remain conscious of the fact that almost everything will be different due to the relocation of ELISSA to Pier 21. We will have construction of our new berth beginning next Tuesday and I am sure it will be an added aggravation to setting up Plankowners’. I believe we have a wonderful opportunity to have a great event with ELISSA acting as more of a centerpiece. We have hired a professional auctioneer and his company to put on the live auction and assist with check-in and check-out. There will be glitches and problems, but as a crew we can work through them all. Just be patient with each other and our guests and remember that however neatly you may flake out a line for running, all it takes is one roll of the ship to cast a hockle into the works.

Let’s remember that this event and all the things we do are for ELISSA… for our ship.

Joseph Conrad writes in Mirror of the Sea:

“But of the delight of seeing a small craft run bravely amongst the great seas there can be no question to him whose soul does not dwell ashore. Thus I well remember a three days' run got out of a little barque of 400 tons somewhere between the islands of St. Paul and Amsterdam and Cape Otway on the Australian coast. It was a hard, long gale, gray clouds and green sea, heavy weather undoubtedly, but still what a sailor would call manageable. Under two lower topsails and a reefed foresail the barque seemed to race with a long, steady sea that did not becalm her in the troughs. The solemn thundering combers caught her up from astern, passed her with a fierce boiling up of foam level with the bulwarks, swept on ahead with a swish and a roar: and the little vessel, dipping her jib-boom into the tumbling froth, would go on running in a smooth, glassy hollow, a deep valley between two ridges of the sea, hiding the horizon ahead and astern. There was such fascination in her pluck, nimbleness, the continual exhibition of unfailing seaworthiness, in the semblance of courage and endurance, that I could not give up the delight of watching her run through the three unforgettable days of that gale which my mate also delighted to extol as ‘a famous shove.’”

I am working on the “draft” ELISSA Hull Preservation Plan that will be the guiding document during the upcoming shipyard. This draft repair proposal will be presented to the Coast Guard for their approval. I am sure elements of it will change. In the words of the famous Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower: “In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.”

Fair leads,

Jamie

James L. White
Director 1877 ELISSA

ELISSA -Replacing the old weather decks

Shipmates,

This summer, ELISSA will begin having her three weather decks renewed in addition to the repair work planned for her hull. In previous newsletters, I have spoken about the hull plate corrosion issue and how we are going to address the need for replacing or repairing up to 56 hull plates. I would like to lay out the proposed plan for renewing all three of ELISSA’s weather decks.

Almost thirty years and hundreds of thousands of pairs of young and old feet have conspired with the hot Texas sun in wearing away and stressing ELISSA’s weather decks to where they are no longer functioning in the way they were designed. The deck not only keeps water out from below decks, but acts as a tensioning element in the overall strength of the hull. The driving of cotton and oakum strands into the seams not only serves to waterproof the planks but acts as a wedge in pushing the planks together and in turn tightening the entire structure.

A deck plank on ELISSA and on many sister ships of her size is typically 5inches wide by three and a half inches thick and averages about 22 feet in length. The seams between the planks are about three eights of an inch wide, and are formed by cutting a bevel onto the outboard edge of each plank for about one third of the planking stock’s thickness. The bevel is cut on only the outboard side of the plank so that the seam is square on one side and beveled on the other. This creates the perfect “inclined” plane to encourage the needed wedging action of driving the threads of cotton and oakum caulking.

A deck is a highly evolved and engineered element of global hull integrity. Next time you are aboard ELISSA, cast a critical eye upon the decks and notice how the planks sweep fore and aft and how they are artfully tapered, masterfully fitted and notched into place at the margin board.

One of the problems with ELISSA’s decks is the caulking bevel has been destroyed over the years by using the wrong tools to drive oakum during the frequent repair attempts over the past years. Special tools were created by shipwrights for this kind of work. There is a special caulking iron for each phase of the caulking operation and a uniquely shaped “caulking’ mallet design. The long cylindrical shape of a caulking mallet is no accident. It focuses the full force of the blow on the head of the caulking iron, and avoids twisting or glancing blows which can easily happen when you use a more conventional mallet with a wider head.


We intend to begin with replacing the fo’c’sle head deck at shipyard this summer. We will have access to cranes to lift off the heavy foredeck gear (anchors, windlass, etc.). Eventually, all the weather deck planking will be replaced. The quarterdeck will be the next weather deck scheduled to be replaced after we return from the 2012 Harvest Moon regatta. The main deck is scheduled to be replaced after our spring daysails of 2013. Our intent is to divide the work into three phases, over the next 16 months or so. Creating two smaller, more manageable jobs before the major effort of replacing the main deck will afforded us the necessary breathing room in the schedule to ensure that we will not have a break in our daysailing schedule.

I have been sourcing supplies for the job and have found several companies that have reclaimed longleaf yellow pine timbers from old warehouses and from sunken logs in rivers. While the decks laid 30 years ago were Douglas fir and old growth quality too - that caliber of timber is very hard to find these days. I have found references to the use of longleaf yellow pine from the southeast used in many of the local fishing craft. In fact in “The American Fishing Schooners” naval architectural historian Howard I. Chapelle, it mentions that the six Crowninshield schooners built in 1902 by Oxner & Story shipbuilders in Essex, Massachusetts, for Gulf Fisheries Company were built of Georgia longleaf yellow pine instead of using the indigenous and very good shipbuilding timbers of the northeast. To have all that lumber sent up to a shipyard in Massachusetts speaks volumes for the suitability of longleaf yellow pine for this climate.

It will be an exciting time aboard ELISSA once we leave for shipyard later this summer - both above and below the waterline. We will have the opportunity to breathe in the fragrant notes of freshly milled longleaf yellow pine or Douglas fir as the timbers are being shaped into new deck planks by skilled shipwrights. We will need to turn to and help wherever we can in the painstaking steps of shaping and fitting the new deck and margin planks into place, caulking the seams with cotton and oakum, then “paying” them with pitch. But, most importantly – we will need to continue to maintain the new decks by good ship husbandry practices. There is nothing as fine as a freshly tarred rig rising above newly oiled decks.

This is an exciting project to be undertaking, and ELISSA certainly deserves it. We look forward to both the structural and aesthetic benefits of this project.

Thank you all for your time and continued dedication!

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).

ELISSA and her makers

Shipmates,

This afternoon, after working on the logistics of our upcoming transit of ELISSA to Pier 21, I stretched my legs and went into the library for a quiet moment to think and go over our planning. My eyes happened to look at the bookcase and fell upon a book by John Masefield titled Salt Water Poems & Ballad, and wanting to take a little afternoon break, I reached for the volume. I unfurled the book to page 119 and decided to read the poem “THE SHIP AND HER MAKERS”. Even before I began to read, I thought of our ship and her “makers”, both those who first riveted together a strong sea going hull and us… her “re-makers”.

Please indulge me as I include this lovely poem for those of you who have not had the pleasure of reading it.

THE SHIP AND HER MAKERS

~THE ORE~
Before Man’s laboring wisdom gave me birth
I had not even seen the light of day;
Down in the central darkness of the earth,
Crushed by the weight of continents I lay,
Ground by the weight to heat, not knowing then
The air, the light, the noise, the world of men.

~THE TREES~
We grew on mountains where the glaciers cry,
Infinite somber armies of us stood
Below the snow-peaks which defy the sky;
A song like the gods moaning filled our wood;
We knew no men – our life was to stand staunch
Singing our song, against the avalanche.

~THE HEMP AND FLAX~
We were millions of grasses on the hill,
A million herbs which bowed as the wind blew,
Trembling in every fibre, never still;
Out of summer earth sweet life we drew.
Little blue-flowered grasses up the glen,
Glad of the sun, what did we know of men?

~THE WORKERS~
We tore the iron from the mountain’s hold,
Buy blasting fires we smithied it to steel;
Out of the shapeless stone we learned to mould
The sweeping bow, the rectilinear keel;
We hewed the pine to plank, we split the fir,
We pulled the myriad flax to fashion her.

Out of a million lives our knowledge came,
A million subtle craftsmen forged the means;
Steam was our handmaid and our servant flame,
Water our strength, all bowed to our machines.
Out of the rock, the tree, the springing herb
We built this wandering beauty so superb.

~THE SAILORS~
We, who were born on earth and live by air,
Make this thing pass across the fatal floor,
The speechless sea: alone we commune there
Jesting with death, that ever open door.
Sun, moon and stars are signs by which we drive
This wind-blown iron like a thing alive.

~THE SHIP~
I march across the waters like a queen
I whom so many wisdoms helped to make;
Over the uncruddeled billows of seas green
I blanch the bubbled highway of my wake.
By me my wandering tenants clasp the hands,
And know the thoughts of men in other lands.


I included this bit of verse in our weekly newsletter to remind myself that there is magic every time the ELISSA stirs. Whether it is bracing the yards round and working the ship or motoring several hundred yards to a new temporary berth…there is always magic whenever ELISSA stirs. After so many ship movements and leagues underway, I forget that some of you will be experiencing the spell of ELISSA moving for the first time! I remember the first time I felt the deck of a square-rigger shift under foot and the excitement that generated deep within me, almost a sense of exaggerated awareness and heightened sensitivity of the ship. While it does not compare to the first time you hand a topsail under a freshening breeze or catch a turn of a t’gallant sheet while underway…there is magic every time ELISSA stirs and awakens the sailor and lover within each of us.

I know she still stirs all of us who have sallied with her in a seaway and would love to be aboard, even for the briefest of ship movements. We will be needing hands to help ashore with her mooring lines and gangway. I hope as many of you as possible can turn to next Thursday, March 1st.


Your shipmate,

Jamie

.

ELISSA ~ a marque of excellence

Shipmates,

Do we work and sail aboard ELISSA for a journey into the past…or for a journey into our future? As we approach ELISSA’s 2012 rehabilitation later this summer, I think it is an important question to ask. All of the tasks we do aboard ELISSA contribute to her overall well being and proper stewardship. Being one of only a handful of extant sailing ships from the 19th century that still sail, ELISSA is still vibrant and tugging at her mooring lines to once again scud along under full sail and not crumbling away on a rocky promontory or disappearing under the scrapper’s cutting torch as so many of her sisters.

ELISSA’s life has spanned 3 centuries because of your efforts and those of your shipmates that signed on before you. When we are sailing aboard ELISSA, we are touching the past and experiencing some of the thrill of a sailor before the mast during the late 19th century, but ELISSA is constantly sailing into the future. How fortunate we all are to be part of the continuum that began with an iron keel laid in Aberdeen in 1877. ELISSA’s true legacy is us and we honor her with every stroke of a paint brush and handsomely coiled line. It is through our vibrant personal experience with ELISSA that we grow in our appreciation of what she means and represents. What she means to me is a standard and marque of excellence and grace and a place where I grew as a bosun while aboard her in 1988.

Looking ahead, it is much easier to see how ships and experiences like ELISSA can change our world. Each of us walks away after each watch with a piece of ELISSA…she becomes part of us and becomes our legacy as she continues her journey hull down into the future.

Please take a moment to view this color brochure that chronicles ELISSA’s history and current challenges facing her 135 year old iron.



I think it is very well done and tells our story. Guidry News has graciously hosted the brochure on their webpage and is always a good source of information regarding ELISSA. http://www.guidrynews.com/story.aspx?id=1000039912

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).