There has been a noticeable absence in the Galveston harbor since the 1877 Tall Ship Elissa left its dock at the Texas Seaport Museum in early fall and headed to Bollinger Shipyard in Texas City for what has been a more than 4-month period in drydock. But the majestic image of her topgallant and royal sails returns to the harborfront this weekend.
Elissa will return to her berth at Pier 22 at the Texas Seaport Museum Saturday afternoon, January 26. The museum and pier will be open from 3-6 p.m, free of charge. If you can’t make it in person, Galveston Historical Foundation will be streaming her arrival at the pier.
During the past four months, Elissa has received a complete hull restoration, repairing significant electrolytic corrosion damage she received during Hurricane Ike when stray voltage left rust and holes in her iron hull.
It was the most significant restoration completed on the ship since its original restoration in the late 1970s and early 1980s when she was discovered nearly stripped in a Greek scrapyard. She first arrived in Galveston in 1979, a little less than a hundred years after the ship carried bananas and cotton into and out of the Port of Galveston.
This restoration called for replacement of more than 1,900 square feet of hull plate, as well as frame and rivet repair. Her restoration will continue through the next several months as she gets a new deck and sails. You can view pictures of the restoration on the ship’s Facebook page.
The 1877 Tall Ship Elissa, the official Tall Ship of Texas, is one of only three ships of her kind in the world that continues to sail. More than 40,000 people tour the ship each year, and each year, her volunteer crew takes her out into the Gulf of Mexico for a series of day sails, proving the ship’s seaworthiness and providing an invaluable living history demonstration.
I have had the good fortune of sailing on Elissa about a dozen times and each time, it has proven to be a unique and impressive experience. Other than the paid officers who lead the crew, Elissa is sailed by volunteers. People who are doctors and teachers and retirees and engineers and writers any other profession you can imagine. They are people who come from diverse backgrounds but all share the common love of sailing, especially on a ship that first launched more than a century ago.
There is an intangible worth to the story Elissa tells. Sure, people could look to history books to learn about sailing and the 19th-century cargo industry that helped establish the Port of Galveston. They could see films and search the Internet and get an understanding of what life was like in the golden age of sailing.
But none of that can foster the same appreciation for the majestic ships as a few steps aboard her deck can. Even if you’re not out in the open water sailing on her, and you simply tour the ship while docked at Pier 22, you’re still introduced to a world you simply will not experience anywhere else around here. Again, there are few ships like Elissa in existence and even fewer that still sail.
The act of keeping her seaworthy helps keep her in pristine condition as a museum as well.
Typically, the Texas Seaport Museum and Elissa charge admission for tours. But for three hours this Saturday, assuming there are no last-minute glitches or delays, you will be able to tour the museum free of charge.
If you have never toured Elissa, or never seen her sail in and out of the harbor, take time Saturday afternoon to visit. And when the Coast Guard clears her for guests in the near future, take time to return and walk aboard, stand on the deck and listen closely – you’re bound to hear the faint echoes of long-ago seamen singing their favorite chanties as they hoist the sails on her magnificent trio of masts.
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