A 149-year-old iron-hulled tall ship that has not visited New York since 1986 is docked in Brooklyn this week, and the public can board it for free.
The Elissa, a three-masted barque built in Aberdeen, Scotland in 1877, arrived at Brooklyn Bridge Marina at 159 Bridge Park Dr. in Brooklyn Heights as part of an America250 voyage, according to AMNY. The ship is owned and operated by the Galveston Historical Foundation (GHF), a Texas nonprofit that spent nearly five decades restoring and maintaining it.
Free deck tours run July 5 through July 7, noon to 6 p.m. daily, but you need to RSVP online in advance. Tickets and reservations for all events are available at galveston250.com.
Before the public tours open, Elissa is hosting a ticketed Class B Parade viewing party on July 3 from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m., where attendees watch Class B tall ships from around the world sail the East River from the Hell Gate Bridge south to Gravesend Bay. Later that evening from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., the ship takes a special preview sail on New York City waters, also ticketed.
Elissa last came to New York in 1986, for OpSail, an event held to mark the Statue of Liberty’s centennial. Sailing here from Galveston covered 2,500 miles, which AMNY describes as her longest voyage in decades and her first major sail in nearly 40 years.
The ship is not a replica. Elissa had a 90-year commercial career sailing ports worldwide before preservationists in Galveston rescued it from a scrapyard in Piraeus Harbor, Greece. It is a designated National Historic Landmark and the Official Tall Ship of Texas, and sails annually during Gulf Coast sea trials. At 205 feet from stern to the tip of her jibboom, with a main mast rising 99 feet 9 inches, she is crewed by eight paid officers and staff and approximately 34 trained volunteers.
Will Wright, Chief Creative Officer for GHF, told AMNY that “ELISSA is not simply traveling to commemorate a milestone, she is doing what she was built to do,” connecting “communities through maritime history.” He added, “This project reflects decades of stewardship and investment, and it reinforces our commitment to ensuring that Galveston’s history continues to be told on a national stage.”
“For Galveston, the America250 voyage is both a national showcase and a statement of identity,” Dwayne Jones, Executive Director and CEO of GHF, told AMNY. “As a historic port city whose story is deeply tied to maritime commerce, immigration, and coastal life, Galveston will be represented on a global stage by a vessel that has become one of its most visible and meaningful ambassadors.”
