SHIP (B)LOG

Our first potluck of the year was a success!  If you missed out this time, don’t worry – potlucks will be held monthly through the spring.  Open to all volunteers and friends (sign up for our mailing list here to get updates on events or check our calendar here).  Come help out for the day and stay for good food, music and great company! We don’t spend all of our time sitting on Poplar playing banjo – there’s work to do, too!  With the help of some of our Drexel volunteers, C

PHILADELPHIA, December 10, 2019: The Philadelphia Ship Preservation Guild (PSPG) is pleased to announce the receipt of $100,000 in grant funding from The W. W. Smith Charitable Trust. The grant application was submitted as part of the 2019-2020 maritime grant cycle on behalf of Philadelphia’s Tall Ship Gazela, a barkentine of Portuguese origin which first sailed in 1901. The Philadelphia Ship Preservation Guild is an all-volunteer nonprofit corporation dedicated to preserving

The ‘Haul Out’ Campaign has had a successful start and has been more accurately rebranded, “Hull Rebuild Campaign!” We exceeded our initial $3,500 goal, and raised in excess of $16,000! We have a Hull Rebuild Campaign Committee (HRCC) and we are looking for folks to help us in grants, publicity, and fundraising. Meanwhile, work continues on Gazela and Jupiter to keep them in as good a condition as feasible. This on-going maintenance is funded in part by the Annual Fund.

Thanks to students from Drexel University fulfilling their civil engagement requirement by volunteering on Gazela, supplementing our complement of volunteers, we got a lot of good work done in the past few months, including shifting ballast for inspection of the members below, removing and stowing the winter cover, and getting a start on uprigging by using mechanical advantage (block and tackle) to get the main and mizzen booms and gaffs in place. To thank them for their hard

Gazela welcomed guests aboard on July 1st and 4th for tours and the best seats available for the fireworks at Penn’s Landing. The event was completely sold out on July 4th! We were happy to see many returning friends as well as some folks who joined us for their first tour. This was also an important chance to raise funds for the organization. We’ll do this again for Labor Day! #fireworks #Gazela

A YouTube user uploaded an aerial video of Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, which includes views of the visiting Gazela from above! She can be seen on the left a few times in the first minute of the video. Also included are some good shots of the Argentine Navy ship Libertad, Baltimore’s own Constellation, as well as the other ships and sights of the harbor. #Baltimore #Gazela #video

Gazela and her crew arrived in Norfolk today, after having a great time sailing in the Chesapeake Bay. During the past four days, the crew has enjoyed sailing, dory rowing, boat operation, and working hard to get Gazela ready to welcome visitors at Norfolk Harborfest this weekend. Norfolk Harborfest is in its 40th anniversary year celebrating America’s largest, longest-running, free maritime festival. Gazela is proud to be part of the festivities, which will run from June 9-1

April 2 after work 1730 on board Gazela Bring a dish.  Bring a bottle.  Bring a friend and turn them on to the ship. Please email volunteer@gazela.org and let us know if you can help by bringing a big pot of something to eat or help with set-up or clean-up. #Gazela

The mandatory Level 1 class – Introduction to Gazela – will be offered four times on Sundays. All dates 10 am to 4 pm, aboard Gazela: April 3 April 17 May 1 May 15 Please register for one of the classes at this link. This class, provided at no cost only to active Guild members, covers a variety of basic topics ranging from knot tying, line handling, learning the ship, emergency stations and watchstanding roles. For new members, you will receive a copy of the Gazela crew manua

Gazela and Poplar went back in the water on October 8 after two months in dry dock at the Philadelphia Navy Yard.  Gazela is currently at Pier No. 2 at the Navy Yard, where volunteers have been busy bringing down blocks and lines, sending down spars, and removing the masts in preparation for moving her to Penn’s Landing for the winter. Gazela leaving dry dock at 8:30am #Gazela

We were featured in the new edition of Marlinspike Magazine! They did a great job focusing not only on the work we were doing but also on those doing the work on Gazela and Poplar. While this is only a sampling of those working in the dry dock, all those who worked and volunteered in the dry dock put in long hours in sweltering heat to get the job done. For those looking to subscribe to Marlinspike Magazine, the only magazine focusing on tall ships, one can subscribe here: ht

The Pop Up at the Dry Dock party has been moved inside due to projected thunderstorms; it will still be in the Navy Yard and people will still be able to see Gazela and Poplar in the dry dock. The address is:  Mercer Cafe   4920 S. 15th Street    Philadelphia, PA 19112 Tickets are available at:  http://brownpapertickets.com/event/2207792 #Gazela

Please join us on September 10 at 5 p.m. at Dry Dock No. 2, operated by Rhoads Industries at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, to celebrate the completion of a project to repair and inspect Philadelphia’s official Tall Ship, Gazela Primeiro. Don’t miss this rare opportunity to see a 114-year-old wooden ship in a 105-year old dry dock! There will be wine, beer, and light fare. Tickets can be purchased through Brown Paper Tickets for $35 for Ship Guild members, $50 for non-members, p

Gazela enters the dry dock On Wednesday, 29 July, Gazela entered Dry Dock No. 2 at Rhoads Industries in the Philadelphia Navy Yard. She crossed the sill at 0805, followed by the barge Poplar, and the water was pumped out beginning at 0955; at about 1230 she touched the blocks. This is the first time the ship has been hauled out in ten years and the first time the barge has been hauled out in probably twice that time. Once the dry dock was pumped out, the scaffolding was built

Dry docking update – we had a great turnout of volunteers on Saturday, July 11, to learn more about an important project to assess the condition of Gazela’s framing, and to make repairs to our barge Poplar. Gazela and Poplar will be going into the dry dock at Rhoads Industries at the Philadelphia Navy Yard on or about the 21st of July, and will remain in dock for about four weeks. The work on Gazela will include pulling a strake of planking off 5′-6′ below the waterline, whic

Letter from Guild President, Al Ponessa to the Guild July 10, 2015 Dry-docking I have been holding off on this Newsletter so I could announce the Dry-docking date. It is now officially in the signed contract for ‘on or about’ July 21. The uncertainty of the date and my hesitancy to announce it was due to a crane-barge that was in the dock that has just been un-docked (on Wednesday). The dock needs to be pumped down and cleaned (in progress) and then we can start building the

Come get the best view of the 4th of July fireworks at Penn’s Landing this Saturday from the decks of the Tall Ship Gazela! Enjoy the use of our clean onboard heads (That’s boat-talk for bathrooms). Bring your own picnic dinner or snacks to enjoy. Gazela will provide some limited seating, although you are welcome to bring your own chairs as well. Please note, Gazela will be tied up to the dock during this event. Click here to order your tickets:  http://bpt.me/1844770 #Gazela

Because of the inclement weather predicted for Saturday, the Delaware River Waterfront has postponed the Penn’s Landing fireworks to Sunday, June 28th. If you purchased tickets to view the fireworks from Gazela’s decks, your tickets will be honored on Sunday. There are still tickets available for Sunday! Buy your tickets at: http://fireworks2015.brownpapertickets.com #Gazela

Get a front-row seat to the fireworks while supporting Philadelphia’s Official Tall Ship On Saturday, 27 June, there will be a fireworks display at Penn’s Landing as part of the events of the Tall Ships Festival. As the fireworks will be launched from the middle of the River, Gazela will be an ideal viewing platform, especially considering the number of people that will be at Penn’s Landing to watch the display. Those viewing the fireworks from Gazela will be able to bring th

We are excited to announce that there will be a nautical themed art show and auction in Gazela’s main hold during the Tall Ships Festival, June 25-28. The event will be half gallery and half raffle, so make sure you stop by when you’re at the festival to browse and have a chance to pick up a one-of-a-kind artwork. #Gazela