1894  
1894a  
1905  
1912  
1914  
1926  
1931  
1940  
1942  
1946  
1947  
1948  
1949  
1950  
1951-1952  
1953  
1954  
1955  
1956  
1957  
1958  
1959-1963  
1964-1965  
1965-1970  
1972-1975
1976  
1977  
1978  
1979  
1980  
1982  
1983  
1984-1985  
1986  
1987  
1988  
1989  
1990  
1991  
1992  
1993  
1994  
1995  
1996  
1997  
1998  
1999  
2000  
2001  
2002  
2003  
   
   
   
   
   
In 1972, Alberto Lopes spent 807,500 escudos repairing the bottom of Ernestina. A great deal of her frames, keel sections and hull timbers were renewed, and the hull sheathed with aluminum sheeting below the waterline. On April 6, 1972 he set sail for Fogo, but ran into a dangerous fog. He lost his bearings and tacked back and forth looking for the lighthouse of Fogo which was frequently out of operation. The sea was extremely rough and when he finally spotted Brava, he was unable to enter the harbor of Furna. He reached Vale dos Cavaleiros (Fogo) with a great deal of difficulty. He tried to return to S. Vicente but again there was reduced visibility and in the high winds he dared only to keep one sail up. He ran out of fuel and was drifting southwest in the strong current. Finally, the ship, Fogo, spotted the Ernestina and brought sufficient fuel to continue on to Sao Vicente.

Alberto Lizardo then took over as master of the vessel. The Ernestina continued to sail until 1974. According to several marine surveyors who viewed her, she was "in good condition" and "well fitted out for trading between the islands of the Cape Verde group." However, her sails and rigging were in poor condition and there was still a pernicious leak around the propeller shaft.

When Alberto Lopes acquired a competing freighter and the colonial government had purchased several vessels, the Ernestina began to be used less and less. Her usefulness as an inter-island packet ship was finished.

In the late nineteen sixties interest arose in the United States to save the historic vessel. Approaches were made to acquire her for the South Street Seaport Museum in New York. Harry Dugan [who sailed north to the Arctic with Bartlett in the 1940s] and the Bartlett Exploration Association of Philadelphia made several offers to buy the ship from Alberto Lopes in 1972, 1975 and 1976.

Scanned images from the campaign to "Save the Morrissey" follow. Take a look at the notable explorers, scientists and writers that signed on!

  backmain menunext