FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 7, 2007
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1877 Elissa, Galveston’s Tall Ship of Texas, Returns Home Wednesday, November 7

Two-Week “Harvest Moon Voyage” Featured Visits to Aransas Pass, Corpus Christi, and Official Recognition by Texas Land Commissioner.

After a three-day passage at sea, wrapping up a two-week journey to Port Aransis and Corpus Christi, the restored 1877 sailing vessel Elissa returned to her home port and her berth at the Texas Seaport Museum Wednesday, November 7, around 2:30 p.m. The vessel will reopen to the public on Saturday at 10 a.m.

Elissa brought with her from Corpus Christi the proclamation by Texas Governor Rick Perry declaring her “The Official Tall Ship of Texas.”

“This voyage has been an exciting and significant project for us,” said Raymond Lewis, President of Galveston Historical Foundation (GHF). It’s very important to have the ship show Galveston’s flag at other ports, and to emphasize Elissa’s significance to Texas history as a whole.”

The vessel departed Galveston on October 25 to take part in Lakewood Yacht Club’s annual Harvest Moon Regatta to Port Aransas, and continued to Corpus Christi for an eight-day port visit. School groups and the general public were welcomed aboard at each port, with her volunteer crew explaining the history and working of the ship. Almost 4,000 paying visitors walked her decks at the two ports. “The voyage has been a success in every respect, including the fact that we more than made its expenses in sponsorship and admissions,” said John Moran, interim director of the Texas Seaport Museum.

A highlight of Elissa’s stay at Corpus Christi was a reception hosted by Mayor Henry Garrett of that city, at which Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson presented Galveston Mayor Lyda Ann Thomas and GHF President Raymond Lewis with Resolution 117 of the Texas State Legislature, passed in 2005 and signed by Governor Perry. The presentation of the document naming Elissa “The Official Tall Ship of Texas” was originally scheduled for late summer of 2005, but had been postponed due to hurricane emergencies.

“This year’s offshore voyage and port visits seemed an appropriate time to officially receive this designation,” said John Moran, one of those who testified in favor of the resolution before the Legislature. “This year is the 130th since Elissa was launched, and the 25th year since she was restored by GHF. And Corpus was a good place to do it, because the ship’s first port visit after her restoration was to Corpus, back in 1985.”

Mayor Garrett, at the Saturday reception, proclaimed November 3rd as “1877 Tall Ship of Texas Elissa Day in Corpus Christi,” and the Corpus Christi Yacht Club hosted a “Tall Ship of Texas Regatta” on the day.

Raymond Lewis presented the Land Commissioner and the two mayors in turn with the first three fine-art prints of a newly commissioned painting by British maritime artist Anthony Blackman. The painting, titled “1877 Elissa Passing in Review,” depicts the Elissa sailing by the Battleship Texas and the towering obelisk of the San Jacinto Monument. “This painting is a visual expression of the importance of the vessel in the sweep of Texas history,” said Lewis. Both mayors promised to display the painting in their respective city halls.

Elissa, a 200-foot-long barque-rigged sailing ship, was built in Scotland in 1877 and called twice in Galveston in the 1880s as a cargo-carrier under the British flag. After a long career at sea, she was rescued from a scrapper’s yard in Greece and purchased GHF. She was restored to sailing condition at Galveston in 1982. She is a popular attraction in Galveston at her berth at the Texas Seaport Museum, Pier 22, and is maintained in top condition by a small staff and a large group of dedicated volunteers.

Elissa is kept in sea-going condition, and actually sails a series of “sea trials” in the Gulf of Mexico each year, thus proving the truth of her restoration and rewarding the volunteers who work on her throughout the year, and train to sail her, with the highly unusual experience of operating a 19th-century sailing vessel.

Elissa has made several voyages to other ports, most notably a voyage to New York City in 1987 to join the international parade of tall ships celebrating the refurbishment of the Statue of Liberty. As one of only three pre-20th-century tall ships in the United States that has been restored to full sailing capacity, Elissa has been declared a National Historic Landmark by the U.S. Department of the Interior.

Elissa was a guest of the City of Corpus Christi, with the particular assistance of the Parks & Recreation Department and Museum of Science & History. Elissa’s “Harvest Moon Voyage” was sponsored and made possible by the Lakewood Yacht Club of Seabrook, Texas, which invited Elissa to join in this year’s annual “Harvest Moon Regatta.” More than 250 boats raced from Galveston to Port Aransas in this event, which is the longest point-to-point sailboat race in American waters.

Downloadable press-ready photographs are available by clicking on http://www.galvestonhistory.org/elissa-gallery.asp