Massachusetts Maritime Academy announced this morning:

MASSACHUSETTS MARITIME ACADEMY HIRES NEW CAPTAIN

Tiffany Krihwan at the helm of the Ernestina-Morrissey

BUZZARDS BAY, MA – February 22, 2021 – The Massachusetts Maritime Academy (MMA) is pleased to announce Tiffany Krihwan as the new Captain of the Schooner Ernestina-Morrissey, the renovated tall ship is expected to arrive at the Cape Cod campus in the Fall of 2021.

Krihwan joins the MMA staff from Discovery World in Milwaukee where she was Director of Marine Operations since 2014 and Senior Captain of the Denis Sullivan, a 19^th-century Great Lakes schooner, since 2008.

“We’re adding a proven leader to our ranks, and I’m looking forward to seeing Captain Krihwan at the helm of the Ernestina-Morrissey,” said Rear Admiral Francis X. McDonald, USMS, President of the Massachusetts Maritime Academy. “We’re excited to have a Captain of Tiffany’s sailing experience, leadership skills and passion for our program aboard.”

An Erie, Pa., native, Krihwan took up sailing FJs (The International Flying Junior,  a sailing dinghy) at the age of 10 at the Erie Yacht Club. She began sailing tall ships in 1997 when she was appointed Chief Mate of the Appledore IV. Other leadership positions include Captain of the Boston-based schooner Roseway, Chief Mate of the Pride of Baltimore II, Relief Captain of the Los Angeles-based brigantine Exy Johnson and Captain of the tall ship Unicorn.

“It’s an honor to be joining MMA and captaining the Ernestina-Morrissey. It’s hard to beat the beauty and grandeur of tall ships,” said Krihwan.

Drawn to the position at MMA by the Ernestina-Morrissey’s history and pedigree, Krihwan is looking forward to guiding the ship and her crew on the waters off Cape Cod. “I’ve sailed on a few Grand Banks Fishing Schooners, the Lettie G. Howard and Roseway, over the years and love the way they sail so effortlessly. They are amazing sailing vessels,” she said.

With the Ernestina-Morrissey, Krihwan is eager to start a sail training program from the ground up and help integrate a tall ship into MMA’s curriculum. “This is such a special opportunity not only for me, but for the cadets,” she said. “Working with these historic vessels helps individuals become far better sailors. You really need to observe the fundamental principles of sailing.”

She also will have an important role in teaching the cadets at the Academy and mentoring them to become leaders. According to Krihwan, her leadership style is to lead by example and believes a captain is only as good as her crew. Her hope is to not only share her love of tall ships with the cadets but also pass along skills that are important on sea and land.

“One of my favorite aspects of sailing a tall ship is seeing the crew and students personally grow from the experience and witness their confidence in themselves develop during their time aboard the ship,” Krihwan explained. “My hope is that they take the experience with them and apply the skills and attributes learned at sea to their shore life.”

Krihwan will be relocating to the Cape Cod area with her 11-year-old daughter. In her spare time, she plans to continue the restoration of the “Mahanna,” her wooden 30′ Tahiti Ketch.

About the Ernestina-Morrissey: The Ernestina-Morrissey is a Gloucester fishing schooner originally built with white oak and yellow pine and launched in 1894. It is undergoing a historical renovation at Bristol Marine Shipyard in Boothbay Harbor, Maine, and will arrive at MMA in the fall of 2021. MMA will focus the efforts of the Ernestina-Morrissey in three areas: sail-training and leadership training for cadets, K-12 STEM programming, and community outreach. The Ernestina-Morrissey’s history includes traveling within 600 miles of the North Pole as an explorer ship, fishing for cod in the Atlantic, and eventually becoming a Cape Verde packet ship. In 1982, the Ernestina-Morrissey became a gift to the United States from the people of the Cape Verde Islands.

About Massachusetts Maritime Academy (MMA): MMA is a fully accredited, four-year, co-educational state university offering Bachelor and Master of Science degrees that are highly regarded in the worldwide maritime industry and beyond. For more than 100 years, MMA has been preparing women and men for exciting and rewarding careers on land and sea. As the nation’s finest co-ed maritime college, MMA challenges students to succeed by balancing a unique regimented lifestyle with a typical four-year college environment. Located on Cape Cod, at the mouth of the scenic Cape Cod Canal, Massachusetts Maritime Academy is the ideal college to pursue the love for the ocean, concern for the environment, interest in math and science, and thirst for adventure.

Massachusetts Maritime Academy has implemented a comprehensive COVID-19 spring return plan and is committed to four main priorities during these challenging times. These priorities are: To keep our cadets, faculty and staff – and by extension, their families – safe; To keep the Academy from becoming a mass-transmission center; To find a path to get our 1/C cadets (seniors) to degree completion in time for Commencement; and To minimize the academic disruption for the 2/C, 3/C and 4/C cadets (underclass students). The full COVID-19 dashboard and plan can be found at: https://www.maritime.edu/covid-19-dashboard

Thank you, Bristol Marine, for sharing the latest news of the great work your crew is accomplishing during the pre-launch fitting out of Ernestina-Morrissey!  In the attached series of photos, (thank you again! Bob Mitchell for your great photos) you will see progress on the restoration of the Ernestina-Morrissey at Bristol Marine’s Shipyard in Boothbay Harbor.  Currently, all work on the Ernestina-Morrissey at the Shipyard is being funded through the generosity of the Lenfest Family.

Cabinetry

Tom Gerhardt is working hard in the cabinetry shop preparing new cabinet installations for the accommodation spaces. The cabinetry shop has been a very busy space this winter. A separate team of carpenters prepares the various pieces for installation in this shop first before final fitting on the ship. Photo Credit to Robert Mitchell

Deck Beams

Kevin Danfelser and Jon Brassard have been busy with difficult overhead sanding and painting. The deck beams in the forward cabin are being finished to match the high quality painted and varnished surfaces throughout the boat. Photo Credit to Robert Mitchell

Engine Room Floor

Jason Brassard is not sitting idle. He is preparing specific areas of the floor for a safety railing that will surround the main engine once it is installed. In a rough seaway it will be nice to have some strong support to keep safe when operating in and around dangerous machinery. Photo Credit to Robert Mitchell

Metal Fabrication

Devon Campbell is preparing a weld in our fabrication shop. He has been working closely with our mechanical team to organize the safe installation of our generators and main engine. Next week we expect to see the engines landed in the mechanical space on the ship and Devon's work will ensure these heavy items are managed with care. Photo Credit to Robert Mitchell

More Doors

More magic from the carpentry shop. Like the aft cabin, the head spaces in the main cabin and forward cabin will receive the same beautiful doors. One more to build once the glue dries and the clamps are removed. Photo Credit to Robert Mitchell

Winter Pier

While this may look like a serene postcard image there is a hive of activity inside those picturesque buildings. Photo Credit to Robert Mitchell

Gregg Swanzey shared the contributions of Fred Kalisz to Schooner Ernestina during his mayoralty:

Our sincere condolences go out to Pat and Ricky Kalisz who were right alongside Fred in his tenure as Mayor of the City of New Bedford in 1998 through 2006. These were exciting years of growth and partnership for Schooner Ernestina from our homeport at State Pier on the New Bedford waterfront. Fred Kalisz moved forward important initiatives that were important to us such as Sea Lab, Martha’s Vineyard Ferry Service, the newly established New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park, New Bedford Art Museum, the Community Foundation of Southeastern Massachusetts, AHA! and much more. These were the years when Summerfest and the Working Waterfront Festival got their footing. What was clear about Fred was that he cared about New Bedford and was bold in his actions to move the City forward. He got a lot rolling in his time in office. We sincerely appreciated his vision and partnership. It felt like we had someone who was pulling along with us as we looked to build a strong public – private partnership to Keep Ernestina Sailing!

Gregg Swanzey, Captain and Executive Director for the Schooner Ernestina Commission 1991 – 2006

Links to Mayor Kalisz “Invest in Kids” program on the July 2003 Calendar

Thank you, Bristol Marine, for sharing the latest news of the great work your crew is accomplishing during the pre-launch fitting out of Ernestina-Morrissey!  In the attached series of photos, you will see progress on the restoration of the Ernestina-Morrissey at Bristol Marine’s Shipyard in Boothbay Harbor.  Currently, all work on the Ernestina-Morrissey at the Shipyard is being funded through the generosity of the Lenfest Family.

Foc’sle plumbing:

Storage tanks have been installed, now the team is assembling the plumbing manifold for overboard discharge and deck pump-out. This image shows a very clean assembly that will be well labeled and easy to use

Details:

The aft cabin continues to come together beautifully. Varnished moldings have been added to complete the bunk and bench installations.

Assembling bunks:

Tom Gerhardt is carefully laying out the positioning of outboard cleats that will be used to support bunks along the port side of the Main Cabin.

Windlass Assembly:

Ross Branch has been working hard to finalize the assembly of the final galvanized metal components. This image shows a test fit prior to the final placement next week.

Fish Hold Construction:

Kaz and Dave working together to install a vertical partition for bunks along the port side of the Main Cabin. Having recently completed the bunk construction in the forward cabin, the team is moving quickly and efficiently to accomplish similar work in the final accommodation space.

Finished Bunks:

The Foc'sle (forward cabin) is looking terrific. With the bunks completed, work will pivot into the Main Cabin and galley space. It is exciting to imagine a full compliment of crew filling these bunks in the future

You can easily access all our past posts about the Ernestina-Morrissey rehabilitation project HERE.

If you would like to help just click the yellow DONATE button at the right.

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Happy New Year! We are looking forward to spending the next New Year’s Eve together, watching fireworks through the rigging of Ernestina-Morrissey again!

While we wait please enjoy the latest report for the Shipyard:

Thank you, Bristol Marine, for sharing the latest news of the great work your crew is accomplishing during the pre-launch fitting out of Ernestina-Morrissey!  In the attached series of photos, you will see progress on the restoration of the Ernestina-Morrissey at Bristol Marine’s Shipyard in Boothbay Harbor.  Currently, all work on the Ernestina-Morrissey at the Shipyard is being funded through the generosity of the Lenfest Family.

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Foc’sle bunks

Sam Perkins is carefully fitting the last few vertical partitions for the port side benches. These benches will serve a dual role in this space. A large mess table will be built in the center of the cabin and these benches will serve as the seating. The benches will also serve as storage spaces for the personal belongings of each bunk occupant.

Waste Tank installations

Devon and Mike have carefully loaded all the remaining waste tanks in the ship. Here, they are installing the starboard side black water tank. This tank was built of fiberglass by our team at the Shipyard. We chose fiberglass for it's non-corrosive properties and durability. These fiberglass tanks are incredibly strong.

Sink installation

The Aft Cabin sink has been installed, and looks terrific! The cupboard door will remain off until the plumbing is completed in the next couple of weeks. Once everything is hooked up, a final coat of varnish will be applied before the entire unit is wrapped in protective coverings until sea trials next summer!

Aft Head Door

We all have been following this project closely. The door is finally hung, and it looks perfect. The quality of work speaks for itself.

Plastic Tanks

In this ship, we have different tank construction methods for different purposes. The tank shown here was recently delivered from our partners at Triple M Plastics in Kennebunk, ME. Plastic, or more accurately polyethylene tank construction is light and durable. This style tank is used across the industry for many different purposes. We chose to use this style for our grey water waste tanks. Unlike the black water tanks, these will never be pressurized and should serve their purpose very well for years to come.

Ventilators installed

These large ventilators have been placed and installed on top of their respective dorade boxes. These are quite large, and look terrific as a pair. The dorade boxes were built specifically to match the exact camber of the deck while remaining level along the top surface. Unlike other ventilators on the ship, these two have a very important purpose. These provide a specific volume of air to adequately ventilate the Engine Room. The port side ventilator is designated as the intake, while the starboard side will be mated to an exhaust fan in the engine compartment to cycle the air through the space. Like everything on a ship, they are beautiful but also serve a purpose.

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SEMAB held their second meeting Friday December 18, 2020.

SEMAB Chairperson Jose Couto Centeio

Jose Couto Centeio was elected chairperson and Captain Elizabeth Simmons was elected vice chair.

An Education Committee was was established with the first members: Dagny Ashley, Melissa DeValles, Dr. Akeia de Barros Gomes (Chair), Dr. Brian Rothschild and Dr. Timothy Walker.  Read more HERE.

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In the 2014 Autumn issue of Sea History Magazine, (you can access all issues by scrolling down HERE)  Captain Walter Rybka wrote about his ranking of the most historically significant American vessels. The first three are naval vessels, the USS Constitution, ex USS Olympia and ex USS Constellation. The fourth? Ernestina-Morrissey!  ( The article was published just before the name change)

Check what Captain Rybka wrote below, or better yet, get lost in the past issues of SEA HISTORY , the magazine of the National Maritime Historical Society, a long time supporter of Ernestina-Morrissey!

Thank you, Bristol Marine, for sharing the latest news of the great work your crew is accomplishing during the pre-launch fitting out of Ernestina-Morrissey!  In the attached series of photos, you will see progress on the restoration of the Ernestina-Morrissey at Bristol Marine’s Shipyard in Boothbay Harbor.  Currently, all work on the Ernestina-Morrissey at the Shipyard is being funded through the generosity of the Lenfest Family.

Head Door

This image shows one of our newest carpenters Kazimieras, who joined a few short months ago. He has been the man behind the head compartment installation in the Aft Cabin. Here he is showing off his most recent craftsmanship. This door will complete the head compartment project. It is currently in the paint booth being varnished before installation. We are all excited to see it hung in place next week.

Aft Cabin Sink

David Thorpe carefully placing the front face of the sink platform for the Aft Cabin. This beautiful piece will be installed on the port side of the cabin between the aft bunk and companionway steps. Like the other details in this cabin, we chose high quality pine and oak. The top piece will be coated bright, while the vertical face will be painted white.

Engine Room Flooring

Jason Brassard is hard at work here installing the diamond plate flooring in the engine room. Each piece of high-quality aluminum flooring is custom fitted according to the spacing and arrangement of the sole beams that run athwartship. Special consideration is also given to maintenance and regular use of the ship's systems. Certain pieces of this plate flooring will be conveniently secured to allow for quick lift out access to machinery spaces that will exist below the floor level

Ventilators

The remainder of our custom aluminum ventilators have arrived ready for final paint and installation. These pieces are truly functional works of art. Not only will they help to properly ventilate the interior of the ship, but I think they will also serve as pleasing aesthetic decorations for the deck and exterior.

Fiberglass Tanks

Ross and Kevin are hard at work laying down fiberglass tape on the interior faces of our new waste tanks. These tanks are superior in strength and durability compared to polypropylene for certain uses. These particular tanks will experience pressure that requires the level of structural integrity that fiberglass provides. Ross is very experienced in this type of construction and has been critical to the clean and efficient construction of these components. Kevin has been his right-hand man through the process, and has also prepared the necessary foundations for this tank inside the ship. We look forward to their installation next week.

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Ernestina-Morrissey, as Effie M Morrissey and as Ernestina, has had many close calls since 1894. In 1912 under Captain Harry Ross she left Portland Maine

for her fishing grounds, Lurcher Shoal, near Yarmouth, Nova Scotia in December.

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“From the dock in Portland to anchor in Yarmouth, she had made the 200 mile passage in 20 hours – an average of 10 miles per hour. The mainsail and jib were on her for four hours of that period; for eight-and-a-half hours she carried foresail and jumbo only, and the last seven-and-a-half hours of the passage was made under foresail alone.”

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Onboard was Frederick William Wallace who often sailed with Ross taking photographs and writing of life on the Banks.

Wallace tells the tale of the 20 hour voyage in this excerpt of his autobiography.

He wrote a ballad inspired by his experience:

lyrics here: The Log of a Record Run  “The Mary L. McKay”

Or listen HERE

Photographers Ron Barboza and Peter Pereiera joined a group of SEMA directors and former Commissioners soon after Governor Baker signed AN ACT TO PRESERVE THE SCHOONER ERNESTINA-MORRISSEY. The group gathered last summer to recognize Tom Lopes’ role in establishing the stewardship of Schooner Ernestina-Morrissey by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

© Ron Barboza l-r Benjamin “Benny” Tavares, Derek Stevens Family, Fred Sterner, Julius Britto, Mary Anne McQuillan, Willi Bank Photo Credit Ron Barboza

This new banner which will fly from the top of Ernestina-Morrissey‘s mainmast, was donated by Brewer Banner.

In 1977, the Foreign Minister, speaking on behalf of President Aristides Pereira said, “The Government of Cape Verde offers the Ernestina as a gift to the United States of America as an expression of the high regard of the people of Cape Verde for the people of the United States and we deliver the vessel to the State of  Massachusetts as a representative of the people of the United States.”  US Ambassador to the United Nations Andrew Young responded; Cape Verde is to be saluted for its “generous return of a piece of our common heritage.”

Former Chairperson of the Schooner Ernestina Commission, Laura Pires-Hester recently remembered “Tom Lopes was probably one of Ernestina‘s very best “Friends”. It took several months of community and official negotiations to determine how best to receive this extraordinary gift from the newly-independent Republic of Cabo Verde. It was Tom’s legislative leadership that made it possible that the State of Massachusetts would receive the historic vessel “for the people of the United States” and that the Schooner Ernestina Commission would be formed to accomplish this. This critical milestone helped set Ernestina‘s future on a good foundation. We can honor his loving leadership by supporting Ernestina-Morrissey as she continues to sail, to educate, to cross ethnic/economic/cultural/geographic boundaries, to transform lives, and to inspire young and old.”

The Massachusetts Schooner Ernestina Commission was established in 1978 to receive official title to the returned schooner. State Representative Thomas D. Lopes, with support

Juilis Britto at memorial to Tom Lopes. © Ron Barboza

from Senator George Rogers, sponsored the enabling legislation establishing the Commission. The first Commission, appointed by Governor Michael Dukakis, included Chairman Julius Britto, currently President of SEMA, William Baker; Margaret Sibley; Kermit Morrissey and Richard Ward. Britto related that, “Tom was a calming source of encouragement for me at a time when I felt a little intimidated about the responsibility of being a State commissioner appointed to receive this gift from the Republic of Cape Verde to the people of the United States. He would always say to me ‘Julius we can do this’”.

Tom Lopes was very active telling Ernestina’s story and engaging supporters through Cape Verdean News. Lopes visited Cape Verde with CVN cable to record the work on Ernestina as well as her departure in 1982.  He later produced the film “Mystery Lady” from his Cape Verdean footage.  As the internet came into popular use, he shared his videos on his video channel.  Tom was still documenting Ernestina at the 2010 Forum and in December 2011, video-recording the masts being removed and producing YouTube videos on his channel.  He was a true advocate of Ernestina until his death in 2012.

With the recent Act to Preserve the Schooner Ernestina-Morrissey, New Bedford’s legislators, Senator Mark Montigny, who introduced the bill in the Senate and Representative Antonio Cabral, who sponsored it in the House, continued Tom Lopes’ legacy.  The course of Ernestina-Morrissey’s life may be changing, as it has three times before, but New Bedford’s importance looms large, as it has since Captain Henrique Mendes brought the Effie M. Morrissey into the harbor for repairs in 1948,  seventy-two years ago, before the first voyage to Cape Verde.

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