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.
On 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 Brentons Reef Lightship after 42 days
at sea and were towed up to the State Pier in Providence.
Jose Mendes, Henriquess 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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