Restoring Ernestina
“Welcome Home Ernestina” schedule of events
Partially restored Ernestina sailing home
After undergoing extensive renovations in Boothbay,
Maine, schooner Ernestina, the official vessel of the
Commonwealth of Massachusetts, returns to her home port
of New Bedford Saturday, May 9. Links to a video
depicting the restoration process, and a schedule of
fund raising events, with a New Bedford Standard Times
news article follow:
Partially restored Ernestina sailing home
By Don Cuddy
NEW BEDFORD — It has been 11 months since Ernestina
sailed on home waters, but the historic schooner is
returning to the city next Saturday, having undergone
extensive restoration on the forward part of its
115-year-old hull at the Boothbay Harbor Shipyard in
Maine.
Weather permitting, Ernestina will leave the shipyard on
Tuesday morning under its own power with a crew of
shipyard workers, calling at Gloucester and Boston
before transiting the Cape Cod canal on Friday afternoon
between 12:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m.
After spending Friday night at anchor, Ernestina will
enter the harbor at 11 a.m. on Saturday, escorted by the
Cuttyhunk ferry.
Members of the public are invited to ride on the ferry
for a donation of $30, according to Chuck Smiler of the
Friends of Ernestina, which is organizing a dockside
welcome home party.
"We are staging fundraising events in Gloucester and
Boston also," he said, "in an effort to rekindle
statewide appreciation for Ernestina. Ernestina is the
real deal, and it still has value. It has educational
and cultural value as well as serving as a tourist
attraction."
After tying up, Ernestina will be open to visitors free
of charge from noon until 3 p.m. A concert on the state
pier featuring Candida Rose, The Beans and the New
Bedford Harbor Sea Chantey chorus will follow at 3 p.m.
with a donation of $20 requested for admission.
The yard work on Ernestina included the replacement of
the planking and decking in the bow section in addition
to replacing a number of frames on both sides of the
hull. Funding for the restoration was provided by a
$500,000 Save America's Treasures federal grant matched
by a further $500,000 from the Massachusetts Department
of Conservation and Recreation, as well as private
donations.
However, the contract with the Boothbay Harbor shipyard
was restricted to the work on the forward part of the
vessel including repainting that section of the hull.
The after section remains in its original condition and
plans are being formulated to use volunteer labor during
the summer to complete the paint job.
Even with this latest phase of the restoration work now
complete, the schooner will not be active this summer
since it cannot receive Coast Guard certification until
the remaining work on the hull is complete. At this time
there are no more funds available for repairs, according
to state officials.
Restoring Ernestina
