What Is the Schooner Ernestina-Morrisey?
This boat has been a fishing vessel, an exploration ship, and a passenger transport in its long career!
What Makes It Historical?
Originally named the Effie M. Morrissey after the daughter of Captain William Morrissey, this vessel launched from Essex, MA on February 1, 1894! For the first twenty years of her life, she was the ship of choice for plundering the cod and haddock off Nova Scotia, breaking a sailing record of 20 hours between Portland, Maine and Yarmouth, Nova Scotia!
In 1926, the Effie M. Morrissey came under new ownership: Captain Bob Bartlett, considered the greatest ice captain of the 20th Century! Having guided Robert Peary and Matthew Henson to the North Pole in 1909, Captain Bartlett was ready for more Arctic adventures, this time with the Smithsonian and National Geographic Society! Cap’n Bob, as he was called, ran 20 voyages up north aboard the Effie M. Morrissey, bringing her within 578 miles of the North Pole, the furthest north any sailing vessel has ever gone! With all her northern experience, she was the best vessel to supply the Navy in the Arctic during World War II! Sadly, after Cap’n Bob died, she was sold in November of 1947 and caught fire, sinking off Flushing, New York!
But a year later, she was back from the dead, bought and raised by Captain Henrique Mendes and renamed Ernestina after his daughter! Thus began her dangerous back-and-forth passenger route to Cape Verde! She was dismasted in 1951, hit by two hurricanes in 1953, and was dismasted again in 1976! After a long career as a Transatlantic packet, Ernestina underwent some major repairs and was gifted back to the US by the people of Cape Verde. From there, she started sailing again, but after hitting the Perfect Storm of 1991 and finding herself surrounded with financial trouble, Ernestina settled in as an honored feature of New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park!
How Can I #HelpTheHelpers?
- Volunteer with Schooner Ernestina!
- Donate to Schooner Ernestina!
- Be a responsible visitor! Please respect the signs and pathways, and treat all structures and artifacts with respect. They’ve endured a lot to survive into the present. They’ll need our help to make it into the future!
How Do I Get There?
66 State Pier
New Bedford, MA 02740
(Take Me There!)
When Should I Visit?
Whenever the mood strikes you!
More Photos
