Built in 1894, the Schooner Ernestina-Morrissey has served many uses. First a fishing boat, the schooner changed functions as times changed. The Ernestina-Morrissey has been an arctic explorer, wartime supply boat and cargo boat, and has transported passengers. It’s now the official ship of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts with a future slated for serving as a Massachusetts Maritime Academy educational vessel. 

Prior to its next assignment, the Ernestina-Morrissey is undergoing a rebuild at Bristol Marine in Boothbay Harbor. The schooner was part of an hour-long Windjammer Days tour June 28 as visitors descended upon the shipyard to learn about the ship’s history and view the progress. Project Manager Ross Branch explained the shipyard had spent five years rebuilding the schooner. He emphasized this wasn’t a restoration. “There is no original wood left on her. This is a rebuild, not a restoration. The schooner has undergone many changes over the years and this is another one,” he said. 

For its latest iteration, Bristol Marine is equipping the ship with 36 bunks, freezers, refrigeration space, a water maker, generator, motor capacity, fresh water tanks, gray water tanks, a fire suppression device, two 500-gallon fuel tanks, and electronic systems. A historian told visitors the schooner’s history dockside and workers explained the rebuild on board. 

Ernestina-Morrissey’s construction began in 1893. The ship was built in Essex, Massachusetts. It was launched on Feb. 1, 1894. Its first job was hauling codfish. In 1905, the schooner’s function changed in a rapidly evolving industry as more vessels became motorized. The Ernestina-Morrisessy was sold to Canadian owners who used it to transport coal. Later, Bob Bartlett bought the schooner and used it for his Arctic science expeditions. The historian reported one excursion resulted in Bartlett transporting baby polar bears and musk oxen to the Bronx Zoo.

National Geographic published articles about the schooner in 1940 and 1946. During World War II, the U.S. military used it for hydrographic work and supplying Allied military bases in Greenland and Iceland. After the war, a group of veterans bought the schooner and transformed it into a passenger ship. Later, it took passengers from Cape Verde to the southern New England coast until the early 1960s. 

After Cape Verde achieved independence from Portugal in 1975, the new country gifted the Ernestina-Morrissey to the U.S. In 1982, it found a new home in Massachusetts.