PRHOn the Waterfront
Guild Volunteers (L to R) Paul Weiss, Rob Sawyer, Laurine Valenti, Scott Cointot, Eric Lorgus, Mike Matulewicz, Nat Bender, Mike Carlsson, Patrick Flynn, Linda Bills, Eddie Walsh, Sarah Wade, Lisa Kolibabek, Rita Fox-Elmes, Alexey Bachmanov, Becky Goldschmidt, Jack Gifford, George Wisser, Jack Little, Ann Gifford, Ed Stemmler, Pete Bailey, Nathan Gifford
Hope Floats
Crew keeps history alive on the Delaware
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by Eric Lorgus
ave you ever dreamed of sailing on a tall ship? Or working on an old tugboat? Welcome to the Philadelphia Ship Preservation Guild, the non-profit that maintains and sails two of Philly’s finest historic vessels the tall ship Gazela Primeiro and the tugboat Jupiter. Recently designated as Philadelphia’s official tall ship, Gazela Primeiro is believed to be the oldest, wooden squarerigged ship still actively sailing in North America. Rebuilt in 1901 in Portugal from a smaller vessel, Gazela sailed with the Portuguese White Fleet until 1969, crossing the Atlantic each summer to fish for cod on the Grand Banks. In 1971, philanthropist William Wikoff Smith purchased her and donated her to what is today the Independence Seaport Museum. The guild assumed ownership in the 1980s. Not much has changed on Gazela since her Portuguese days. The cook still uses the same stove, the crew still sleeps in the same cramped berths and the anchor
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is still raised by a 1930’s vintage hand-crank-started diesel engine. In the foc’s’le, a faded list of old Portuguese radio codes remains. In the early days of radio, two-digit codes were used to send phrases such as “Congratulations. You are a father. Mother and child are well.” The tugboat Jupiter was built in Philadelphia in 1902. She worked as a harbor tug and assisted with the launch of the battleship USS New Jersey in 1942, and the launch of the first nuclear-powered merchant ship, NS Savannah, in 1959. She was retired from commercial service in the late 1980s and donated to the guild. The guild is managed and staffed by volunteer members of all ages and from all walks of life. During the off-season, they maintain the vessels under the direction of a professional shipwright. During the sailing season, they take turns sailing as crew on either or both vessels. The guild welcomes new members and no experience is necessary. For more information, please visit www.gazela.org. prh