The 2011 Plankowners’ Party and Auction gets underway at the Texas Seaport Museum on Saturday, June 4, 6:30 pm at Pier 22. 
Dinner, live music and a hefty cargo of unusual auction items will be on hand during the annual fund-raiser supporting the 1877 ELISSA. Tickets are $50 per person and $90 per couple and may be purchased on line at www.galvestonhistory.org/plankowners or by calling (409) 763-1877. Complimentary parking will be available at the museum.
“ELISSA is maintained today by a small professional staff and a crew of hundreds of volunteers. She is supported by donations large and small, in cash and kind, and is one of GHF’s signature visitor attractions. The annual Plankowner’s Party and Auction is a celebration of the community around the ship.” says Dwayne Jones, Galveston Historical Foundation Executive Director.
The evening features a seafood buffet from Fisherman’s Wharf, complimentary beer and wine, live entertainment by Sparky Koerner’s Jazz Express, live and silent auctions and a drawing for a daysail on ELISSA. Items to be auctioned this year include a Warbird flight; a sailing vacation on the Historic Maine Schooner AMERICAN EAGLE; dinner for eight onboard ELISSA; a one-of-a-kind ELISSA art glass illustration; a seven night retreat in Jackson Hole, Wyoming; a shrimping excursion and shrimp boil aboard the 1937 shrimper SANTA MARIA, a classic motor yacht cruise and brunch at Lakewood Yacht Club aboard the 1941 SERENTY and much more..
The Texas Seaport Museum initiated the ELISSA Plankowner’s Syndicate in 1980 to honor a special group of donors. Through in-kind and cash contributions, these individuals and businesses purchased planks for ELISSA’s decks. Membership in the Plankowner’s Syndicate is varied. The sale of the final plank inspired a new opportunity for the sale of 318 iron hullplates. In 1990, Hullplate Owners joined the Plankowner’s Syndicate as members of a unique support group. Plates can be purchased by businesses, groups, or individuals and can be in memory or in honor of someone. Those who attend the Plankowners’ Party are given the opportunity to become a member of the Plankowners’ Syndicate by purchasing a hullplate.
The Robert W. Knox, Sr., and Pearl Wallis Knox Charitable Foundation of Houston underwrite the Plankowners’ Party. Since 1964, the Knox Foundation has supported a variety of cultural and education projects in the Houston-Galveston area. Pearl Wallis Knox was a native Galvestonian; thus the Wallis Family’s historic ties to Galveston have made the Knox Foundation gifts to GHF particularly meaningful.
Advance reservations are appreciated, although tickets will continue to be sold up until the evening of the party at the door. For more information on the Texas Seaport Museum or the 1877 Tall Ship ELISSA, please contact Becky Jones, at (409) 763-1877 or info@galvestonhistory.org.
ABOUT THE 1877 ELISSA
Named in 2005 by the Texas legislature as the Official Tall Ship of Texas, ELISSA is one of only three 19th-century square-riggers in the United States that continues to sail. Built in 1877 in Aberdeen, Scotland, the iron-hulled vessel boasts a 90-year commercial history during which she carried a variety of cargoes to ports around the world, including Galveston. A National Historic Landmark and a fully functional sailing vessel, ELISSA has achieved a special place in history by sailing in the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries.
After being abandoned as a freighter in Piraeus Harbor, Greece, ELISSA was rescued in the 1970s by a group of preservationists who refused to let her and her rich history die. Following extensive restoration, she today is part of the museum’s permanent exhibit and one of Galveston Island’s most popular attractions. Measuring 205 feet in length with a height of 99 feet and nine inches at the main mast, she carries 19 sails that cover more than a quarter of an acre in surface area. When not sailing, ELISSA is open for daily tours at the Texas Seaport Museum, located at Pier 22, just off Harborside Drive in downtown Galveston.
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