Elissa to lead sailboats to Port Aransas marina

COURTESY PHOTO Watch for Elissa's sails This year's Harvest Moon Regatta will be led into Port Aransas by the 1877 iron barque Elissa. The ship along with some 250 sailboats is tentatively expected here between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m.on Friday, Oct. 26.

Ahoy, mateys! Line the waterfront on Friday, Oct. 26, to welcome the 1877 Elissa, the Official Tall Ship of Texas. She will accompany the Harvest Moon Regatta racers to Port Aransas where she will receive visitors for tours, then proceed to a berth in Corpus Christi where she will be open for school children tours and educational maritime exhibits.

The Harvest Moon Regatta, hosted and organized by Lakewood Yacht Club members, starts from the Flagship Pier in Galveston today, Thursday, Oct. 25. Some 250 boats will start arriving in Port Aransas tomorrow morning, Friday, Oct. 26. The event culminates in a race awards party on Saturday, Oct. 27, at Roberts Point Park to celebrate the 130th birthday of the Elissa.

The Elissa organizers were uncertain about the time of day Oct. 26 to expect the iron barque.

The barque will dock at the McDermott facility at Harbor Island. Tours will be given Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 27 and 28, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Cost is $5 for adults and $3 for those under 18. Children under 6 will be admitted free.

To tour the Elissa, park at the McDermott gate on State Hwy. 361. Two shuttles, courtesy of the City of Port Aransas, will take visitors to the ship. If crossing the ferry, a shuttle will pick up visitors at the ferry landing park and walk area and take them to the ship.

On Monday, Oct. 29, the Elissa will move on to Corpus Christi for one week.

The climax of this visit will occur on Saturday, Nov. 3, when the Elissa prepares to receive Perry.

The governor will present a proclamation proclaiming the Elissa to be the official Tall Ship of Texas with a group of Texas Navy Admirals in attendance, according to Harvest Moon Regatta Chair Bob Martin of Lakewood Yacht Club.

The Elissa will depart for her return voyage to Galveston, which will take her past Port Aransas, on Monday, Nov. 5.

Restored to her original sailing condition by the Galveston Historical Foundation in 1982, the iron sailing vessel Elissa has maintained an annual schedule of spring "sea trials" to prove the soundness of her restoration. Her last major outing was in September 2006, when she greeted the new 337- foot nuclear submarine Texas when it entered Galveston Bay for its commissioning ceremony sponsored by First Lady and Texas native Laura Bush.