GALVESTON HISTORICAL FOUNDATION
November 25, 2009
Contact: Molly Dannenmaier
Director of Marketing and Public Relations
409-765-7834

Autographed Copies of New Book
About Texas’ Historic Tall Ship Elissa
Now Available for Sale Online

Galveston Historical Foundation and Arcadia Publishing have just released the second in their new series of books on Galveston history. Released in November, 2009, “Galveston’s The Elissa: The Tall Ship of Texas,” by Kurt Voss, former director of the Texas Seaport Museum, is now available for sale online at www.galvestonhistory.org. Autographed copies are available upon request.

The first book published in the partnership between GHF and Arcadia was “Galveston: A City on Stilts,” by Galveston County Historical Museum curators Jodi Wright-Gidley and Jennifer Marines, released in October, 2009, a month after Hurricane Ike wreaked the worst havoc on this Island city since the Hurricane of 1900, whose decade aftermath of rebuilding “City on Stilts” chronicled. “City on Stilts” became Arcadia’s best-selling title last fiscal year, even after being released seven months into the fiscal year. Autographed copies are still available online at www.galvestonhistory.org.

“Galveston’s The Elissa: The Tall Ship of Texas,” the Newest Release from GHF/Arcadia

On Dec. 26, 1883, the square-rigged sailing vessel Elissa entered Galveston’s harbor laden with bananas for sale.

For many decades after, the 1877 iron-hulled barque carried cargoes around the world, only to end up in the 1970s in a salvage yard in Piraeus, Greece. After a last, inglorious, motorized stint smuggling cigarettes across the Adriatic Sea between Yugoslavia and Italy, Elissa seemed doomed.

But Elissa escaped destruction. Her rescue and restoration by Galveston Historical Foundation is one of the greatest maritime preservation tales ever.

And now Elissa’s entire 132-year history--including 200 vintage images related to the vessel--has been put into print in a new book called “Galveston’s the Elissa: The Tall Ship of Texas.” The book was released for sale Monday, November 9.

Author Kurt D. Voss, former director of GHF’s Texas Seaport Museum, will be on hand during the Dickens on The Strand festival in downtown Galveston, December 5 and Sunday, December 6, to sign copies of the beautifully illustrated book. The new book is also highlighted in an exhibit of photographs from Elissa’s history at the Texas Seaport Museum, Pier 22 and Harborside Drive, Galveston.

“This book has been a labor of love,” said Voss, who oversaw Elissa’s care and operations at the Texas Seaport Museum for many years. “It tells a story about one of the most significant historic preservation efforts in Texas history. It’s a story that needs to be passed from generation to generation of Texans.”

The book recalls how, with painstaking care, dozens of craftsmen and hundreds of volunteers spent three years restoring Elissa after it was towed from Greece to Galveston in 1979. For nearly three decades now, Elissa has been recognized as one of the finest maritime preservation projects in the world.

Officially named “The Tall Ship of Texas” by the Texas Legislature, Elissa is not a replica but a survivor. For several days each year, the graceful ship can be seen under full sail from Galveston’s beachfront as a professional captain and a highly-trained volunteer crew gives the 205-foot, three-masted ship a workout, at the same time affording sightseers a glimpse of what they would have seen along the Texas coast had they lived in the 19th century.

In addition to a description of Elissa’s use as a cigarette smuggling ship, highlights of Voss’s book include:

• The story of Elissa’s original owner, Henry Fowler Watt, who, on his last voyage as owner, accused the ship’s first mate of mutiny and shot him.
• Descriptions of Elissa’s trip’s around Cape Horn, at the Southern tip of South America (at least twice), widely considered to be the world’s most dangerous sailing journey.
• Explains how the Elissa still is kept in sailing condition, trips it has made to Corpus Christi, New York and other ports, and how the ship makes a series of day sails into the Gulf of Mexico offshore of Galveston each year.

“Galveston’s The Elissa: The Tall Ship of Texas,” is published by Arcadia Publishing, www.arcadiapublishing.com in partnership with Galveston Historical Foundation. It is available online at www.galvestonhistory. The 128-page soft-cover book, part of Arcadia’s Images of America Series, is $21.99.

All author royalties from the sale of the new book will be donated to Galveston Historical Foundation and used for the Elissa’s continued preservation.

About The Author:

Kurt D. Voss, 55, a native of Houston, Texas, was eight years old when his grandfather began taking him fishing on old wooden boats in Galveston Bay. Historic vessels have been a key part of his life ever since. He has a degree in historical studies from the University of Houston-Clear Lake.

Voss’ involvement with the Elissa began in late 1980, when he became one of the original stateside volunteers. He was a member of the sailing crew from 1982 to 1986 and vice chairman of the Elissa Committee during 1986-1987.

Voss joined the staff of the Texas Seaport Museum (a project of Galveston Historical Foundation) in 1990, after spending 15 years as a broadcast technical consultant, specializing in project management and governmental regulation. During 1992-1993 he was curator of Dallas’ Frontiers of Flight Museum, where he worked with several nationally-recognized museum exhibit designers and consultants. Voss returned to the Texas Seaport Museum in 1993 as assistant director. He was the director of TSM/Elissa from September 1994 to May 2007.

Since moving to Tampa, FL in 2007, Voss has been associated with the S.S. American Victory, an operational World War II merchant ship that is a living museum. He is also a principal in Historic Ships and Boats, consultants for traditional vessels and maritime museums.