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John Baptista, Jr. served as captain and Valentin Lucas as first mate for a voyage to America without engine or radio in 1953. For fifteen days they were becalmed within one hundred miles of Nantucket Island until Hurricane Edith came down on them. The storm started in the afternoon and lasted all night. They lashed the helm and all went below to ride out the storm until next morning.

As they went on deck to survey the damage, one of the crewman, Pedro, was nearly swept over by a wave; Valentin Lucas grabbed him just in time. Then a joint in the stern opened and water came rushing in. They pumped frantically as repairs took place. Next the boom fell and came down on Henrique Mendes. As the storm subsided, they tried to sail again and make port.

Jose MendesOn September 6, they encountered the Dutch passenger ship, Noordam, and asked for help. A doctor came on board to look at Henrique and gave him medication and milk. The captain of the Noordam confirmed their position and advised them of the direction of another hurricane. They were hit by the second hurricane 72 miles south of Brenton Reef Lightship. Finally, on September 11 about 6:30am, they arrived off Brenton’s Reef Lightship after 42 days at sea and were towed up to the State Pier in Providence. Jose Mendes, Henriques’s son, says he never saw the ocean as furious and thought they were finished more than once.

The return voyage was bad. They left Providence on December 2, 1953 and had very cold rough weather for the entire voyage. They encountered biting head winds and had to tack for 42 days before reaching Cape Verde on January 13, 1954.

According to the New Bedford Standard Times December 3, 1953:

Ernestina Sets Sail for Verdes

Ernestina's off again.

With no engine and no radio, the two-masted schooner sailed yesterday from Providence on the 3,500-mile voyage to the Cape Verde Islands.

The 59-year-old vessel, once the Arctic exploration craft Effie M. Morrissey of Captain Bob Bartlett fame, carried a cargo of 75 tons of general merchandise for the islands, which she hopes to reach in about 25 days.

Back aboard before sailing time were four missing seamen, one of them a new bridegroom who left his new wife weeping on the dock. He jumped ship November 6 to get married.

Three other alien crew members, who were supposed to be kept aboard when the Ernestina arrived in Providence September 11, had gone over the side previously. The Government assessed the ship owners $4000 or $1000 a head for the AWOL seamen.

Yesterday the Government gave the owner a rebate of $3200 before sailing.

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