SCHOONER ERNESTINA-MORRISSEY, was built in 1894 at the James and Tarr Shipyard for the Gloucester fishing fleet. Under Captain Bob Bartlett she sailed to within 600 miles of the North Pole, and later brought immigrants to the U.S. under the power of sail. Returned to the US in 1982 as a gift from the newly independent Cape Verdean people, she sailed as an educator until 2005.

The Gift

Posted on November 5, 2010 by Mary Anne McQuillan

Ernestina is a Gift.

As Effie M. Morrissey she was a gift to the Morrissey family as a highlining fishing schooner out of Gloucester.

She was a gift to the many fishermen she brought safely back from the Grand Banks with her holds full of salt cod.

She was a gift to Captain Bob Bartlett at a time when his life needed a new direction,  returning him to his beloved Arctic for 25 years.

As Ernestina, she was a gift to Cape Verdeans, a packet ship bringing  immigrants to the United States and serving as a link between families.

She was a gift from the Cape Verdean people to the United States when she was returned to Massachusetts in 1982.

She was a gift to the thousands of people who have learned on her decks since her return.

Now she needs our help.  We need your vision of  Ernestina’s future.

It is time to give back, and give forward, and give Ernestina a future we can all be proud of.

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