The Schooner Ernestina-Morrissey is a 156-foot vessel that has led one of the most varied careers in American maritime history. Built in 1894 as a fishing schooner, she served as an Arctic exploration vessel, a packet boat carrying Cape Verdean immigrants to New Bedford, and a training ship before being donated to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts by the government of Cape Verde in 1982.
She is currently berthed in New Bedford harbour as a living museum ship and part of the Whaling National Historical Park. Tours of the vessel are available when she is in port; check the schedule as she occasionally sails for educational cruises along the New England coast. The Cape Verdean history she represents is significant: Cape Verdeans made up a large part of New Bedford's whaling crews in the 19th century and their descendants remain one of the city's most distinct communities today.