Ahead of Maritime Fest, Tall Ship Ernestina-Morrisey to Hold Cruises Out of Greenport
The East End Seaport Museum is welcoming the Tall Ship Ernestina Morrisey, which will be coming into Greenport on Tuesday, Sept. 17 and will be in port through the Maritime Festival Weekend until Sept. 23, 2024.
Pictured Above: On May 18, 2023 Ernestina-Morrissey returned to her berth at New Bedford’s Stata pier. Her epic shakedown cruise to Florida and Texas was part of a Tall Ships Challenge: Photo Credit: Polly Zajac
The SSV Ernestina-Morrissey was built in 1894 at the James and Tarr Shipyard in Essex, Ma. for the Gloucester fishing fleet. As well as being a fishing vessel, over the course of her long history she sailed to within 600 miles of the North Pole, and later brought immigrants to the United States, according to the Schooner Ernestina-Morrisey website.
Returning to the United States in 1982 as a gift from the newly independent Cape Verdean people, she sailed as an educational vessel until 2005.
Now owned by the state of Massachusetts and operated by Massachusetts Maritime Academy, the SSV Ernestina-Morrissey is host to undergraduate sail-training and leadership training for cadets, K-12 STEM programming, and community outreach and awareness within the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and beyond.
According to Massachusetts Maritime Academy’s president, Admiral Francis McDonald, “Sail training, leadership, and seamanship programs are just a few of the subjects envisioned for cadet training. Community and cultural programs, while alongside the Cape Cod Canal and the New Bedford State Pier, will also be a mainstay of her future life. We look forward to our new role in the long history of the SSV Ernestina -Morrissey.”
“She’s a true American Treasure” according to her Captain, Tiffany Krihwan.
As she graces our shores with her presence and offers an array of public sails and deck tours, the East End Seaport Museum will be selling sails to the public via https://www.eastendseaport.org/
Tickets must be purchased in advance and are limited to 65 tickets per sail. The ship will be docked behind the museum on the commercial dock at 100 Third Street, Greenport.
The ship will dock and be inspected by the U.S. Coast Guard on Tuesday, Sept. 17, and will be open for public sails on Wednesday, Sept. 18 at 9:30 a.m. (check in by 9 a.m.) and 4 p.m. (check-in at 3:30 p.m.) She will be open for deck tours from 1 to 3 p.m.
On Thursday, Sept. 18, there will be a morning sail at 9:30 a.m., followed by deck tours from 1 to 3 p.m. A sail for East End Seaport Museum members will be held at 3:30 p.m. There will also be a 9:30 a.m. sail for the public on Friday, Sept. 19, followed by deck tours from 1 to 3 p.m.
Tickets to the sails are $65 for general admission and $25 for children ages 4 to 12.
The ship will be at the dock and open for deck tours from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 21 & 22 for Maritime Festival weekend.
