Photo: Susan S. Bank

The schooner Ernestina-Morrissey, ex Ernestina, ex Effie M. Morrissey, will soon begin a new chapter in her long and storied career as a sail training vessel for the Massachusetts Maritime Academy.

The schooner was built in 1894 at the James and Tarr Shipyard for the Gloucester fishing fleet. Following a successful career as a fishing vessel, the schooner was skippered by Robert Bartlett for many years on numerous scientific expeditions to the Arctic, sponsored by American museums, the Explorers Club and the National Geographic Society. She also helped survey the Arctic for the United States Government during World War II. She would later carry cargo and immigrants from Cape Verde in the packet trade. Returned to the US in 1982 as a gift from the newly independent Cape Verdean people, she sailed as an educational vessel until 2005. 

She is currently designated by the United States Department of the Interior as a National Historic Landmark as part of the New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park. She is also the State Ship of Massachusetts.

In September of 2019, the state Senate voted to transfer ownership of the schooner to the maritime academy. In that decision, it was stated that the vessel’s home port would be New Bedford and it would have to be berthed there for at least 90 days annually. Additionally, students in New Bedford would have to be guaranteed access to the ship for educational purposes.

Massachusetts Maritime Academy has announced that they will focus the efforts of the schooner Ernestina-Morrissey on undergraduate sail-training and leadership training for cadets, K-12 STEM programming, and community outreach and awareness within the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and beyond. These three pillars will look to ensure the legacy of Ernestina- Morrissey as an educational asset for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

The Ernestina-Morrisey is currently undergoing renovations at the Bristol Marine Shipyard in Booth Bay Harbor, Maine. It is expected to be ready for use at the college by the coming fall semester.