[MassHistPres] Schooner Ernestina - MA DCR seeks interest for unique work for lease partnership

[Allen, Kevin (DCR)]

DCR SEEKING EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST IN REHABILIATION, 
MANAGEMENT AND MAINTENANCE OF SCHOONER ERNESTINA

The Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) is issuing a Request for Expressions of Interest (RFEI) for the opportunity to rehabilitate, reuse, and maintain the Schooner Ernestina / Morrissey, the official ship of the Commonwealth.  Through DCR's Historic Curatorship Program, outside parties rehabilitate and maintain a historic property in return for a long-term lease.  The purpose of this document is to identify parties interested in the unique opportunity to be a part of the next chapter in the long and rich history of this national treasure.

This document is not a call for proposals, but an attempt to present the property and program to the general public, gauge general interest in the potential opportunity and collect information to guide the development of a formal Request for Proposals.  

SCHOONER ERNESTINA, Ex. Effie Morrissey, was built in 1894 at the James and Tarr Shipyard for the Gloucester fleet and fished the Grand Banks until the 1920s.  Purchased in 1926 by Canadian Captain Bob Bartlett, she sailed the Arctic, collecting specimens for scientific institutions such as the Smithsonian and American Museum of Natural History.  She broke wooden maritime records when she sailed to within 600 miles of the North Pole, and was later drafted into service during World War II.  Saved from deterioration by Captain Henrique Mendes in 1948, Ernestina became a Cape Verdean packet ship and carried immigrants to the U.S. under the power of sail.  Returned to the US in 1982 as a gift from the newly independent Cape Verdean people, she sailed as an educational vessel until 2005.

Curators are chosen based on a number of criteria, including the overall quality of their proposal, their experience in restoration and historic preservation, their financial resources, and level of public benefit beyond providing biannual public access.  

Responses to the RFP are due on Friday, July 25, 2012 by 5 p.m.  An open house will give respondents the opportunity to view the property, and is tentatively scheduled for June 16th from 10am-3pm.  Please contact the program at the email below if you are interested in attending the open house.  

For electronic copies of the RFEI, as well as more details on the Historic Curatorship Program, visit DCR's website:  mass.gov/dcr/stewardship/curator.  For hard copies of the documents or more information on the program, send an e-mail to HCP.Requests at state.ma.us, call 617-626-1361, or write to Historic Curatorship Program, Department of Conservation and Recreation, 7th floor, 251 Causeway St., Boston, MA 02114.  

If you would like to be removed from this notification list and ant other Historic Curatorship Program notices, please send an email to HCP.Requests at state.ma.us, with "unsubscribe" in the subject line.