Brava to the high school in Praia and Mindelo; but it was too late to make a trip to the United States. In the meantime, Arnaldo obtained a master's license and served as second in command on the 1953 voyage. John Baptiste was the captain and his brother Jose Mendes was also aboard as well as Henrique Mendes. Twenty-one days out of Saint Vincent, about 300 miles north of Bermuda, a hurricane hit. After being tossed about for several days, they had 16 days of calm. Then a second hurricane, more furious than the first, struck them 72 miles south of the Brenton Reef Lightship. They reefed the sails, lashed the helm, battened the hatches, and went below to ride out storm. It took them another six days to recover the ground lost; they reached Providence on September 11. On November 7, 1953, Arnaldo Mendes married Maria. Shortly thereafter, the Ernestina returned to Cape Verde with Arnaldo.
In the fall of 1955 Capt. Arnaldo Mendes says good-bye to family and friends to return to Cape Verde before Christmas.
Arnaldo was the captain for the 1954 voyage. Leaving on July 6, 1954, with sixteen men and three passengers, they ran into rain and heavy winds several times during the crossing, but they took in sail and rode out the storms, completing a safe, otherwise uneventful trip"Thanks to the Almighty," as the skipper, Arnaldo Mendes, wrote in the log. The Ernestina was taken to New Bedford where a second-hand Diesel engine and radio receiver were installed. On the return voyage, they suffered from a lack of wind and used the engine frequently. They arrived ten days before Christmas so that the Cape Verdeans were able to receive their presents from friends and relatives in the States in plenty of time. The 1956 voyage was the last one for Arnaldo-his wife wanted him home more in Canton, Massachusetts. He ar-
rived in 28 days with eight passengers. Valentin Lucas, who was first mate, took the Ernestina back on November 8. She carried 200 tons of general cargo, a crew of 18 and two passengers, Maria Santos, 104 years old, and Ludeger Mendes Rose, 67 years old. They made it to the Azores rather quickly, but a hurricane pushed them back to Puerto Rico so that it took over 40 days to reach Mindelo. In 1957 the Ernestina was hauled and major repairs were undertaken. Twentyeight carpenters labored nearly a month, ripping out and replacing rotten planking below .the waterline. Henrique Mendes complained it cost him $7 ,000, but assured everyone, "she is in good shape now." Capt. Nonauto Brito Raimundo brought the Ernestina over in 1957 with four passengers in 27 days. He returned with one passenger, Mrs. Catarina Doloma Cruz, 82 years old, who insisted on going back on "Henrique's boat". But the Belgian Line was now providing seven-day service between New England and Cape Verde, which made finding cargo and willing passengers more difficult. The Ernestina came again in 1958 after a record 24-day trip from Cape Verde. She left Providence on November 15 carrying a two and a half ton truck lashed on the deck, a bell for the new St. Lawrence's Church in Praia, househqld goods and live chickens-but no passengers. The Ernestina made no more annual trips to Providence between 1959 and 1963, but on September 3, 1964 she reappeared off Point Judith. A pilot boat was dispatched to bring her to the Municipal Wharf in Providence. There were no passengers, and the only cargo was 215 pounds of tobacco and gifts of dried beans and grog. Hundreds of sightseers and Cape Verdean families rushed to the dock to welcome this strange apparition from an era gone by. U.S. custom officials sealed the gifts, for the group of over 50 welcomers overwhelmed the ship. For the next few weeks, the Ernestina was the site of a daily party. The people from Providence brought gifts for the crew, in memory of the islands. Stories were exchanged and spontaneous music emanated from the vessel. She returned once more in 1965, suffering clutch problems, and was taken again to New Bedford to be checked over. Capt. Alexander Fortes was the captain for these last two voyages to the United States. In 1967, Henrique Mendes sold the vessel to Albert Lopes who used her for
another half-dozen years in trade between the islands. Henrique Mendes had always hoped the vessel would return once more to the United States and retire with honor in the land of her birth. Approaches were made to acquire her for the South Street Seaport Museum in New York and later for Bartlett Exploration Association of Philadelphia. A Cape Verdean-American group in Providence wrote to the President of Cape Verde inquiring whether it would be possible to send the Ernestina to America for the Bicentennial. The President replied that he would ensure that everything possible would be done for the Ernestina to participate in Operation Sail 1976. The Ernestina was hauled; forty shipwrights, welders, mechanics and riggers worked on the vessel from seven a.m. to seven p.m. for two weeks; a man was sent to Lisbon for new sails; seamen who had sailed on her and two students from the Mindelo Navigation School were selected for her crew; and all that could be done to make her ready was undertaken. Only her masts (which had already caused concern to the surveyor) could not be replaced. On June 8 the Ernestina sailed for America once again. In rough seas twelve miles off the coast of Santo Antao, the masts and rigging came crashing down. Fortunately, no one was injured, but the attempt had to be abandoned. A new, broadly based movement has now taken shape to bring the ship home. New masts have been donated by the Seaboard Shipping Company of New Jersey and Canadian Transport, a radio by Communication Devices of Great Neck, Long Island, and fuel pump by a former crew member of the Morrissey and the United Nations Yacht Club. Fund-raising activities are presently underway to repay the Cape Verde Government and the present owner for the recent repair bills. The owner has agreed to donate the vessel to the Massachusetts Maritime Academy, which will act as custodian of the vessel and make her available to communities connected with her past for community based programs. Arnaldo Mendes has stated that this is precisely what his father would have wished . .t
AS WE GO TO PRESS ... the Cape Verdean Government has bought the Ernestina and has informed Ambassador Wells of their intent to bring her to New York for the July 4th Harbor Festival, and thereafter to donate her to the people of the United States.
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