Very sad news this morning...

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/...n/7649067.html

GALVESTON — The official tall ship of Texas is in trouble.

The iron and steel bottom of the three-masted 1877 Elissa is nearly rusted
through in places, prompting the U.S. Coast Guard to declare that the vessel is
not seaworthy.

Officials at the Texas Seaport Museum in Galveston where the Elissa is berthed
were astonished when a Coast Guard inspection earlier this year revealed the
rotten hull.

The tall ship is inspected twice every five years, said John Schaumburg, museum
assistant director. The latest inspection uncovered the worst rot since the tall
ship was rebuilt in 1982, he said.

Very little corrosion was discovered during the previous dry dock in 2008,
prompting surprise that the bottom could have deteriorated so quickly,
Schaumburg said.

"Everyone's jaw just dropped," said Ed Green, one of about 100 volunteer crew
members from Houston. About half of the volunteers are from Houston, as are most
of the ship's visitors, Schaumburg said.

No one knows for sure what caused the rapid deterioration, but officials suspect
that Hurricane Ike might be the culprit. Elissa rode out the September 2008
storm at a special mooring designed for violent storms, losing a sail, a spar
and suffering some other minor damage.

The worst damage was unseen, Schaumburg said. Sea water eats into any metal, so
15 zinc "anodes" are fastened to the hull to draw off the corrosion. Naturally
occurring electrical currents draw the corrosion to the anodes, Schaumburg
explained.

Officials believe that an electric current, possibly caused by an electric line
dislodge by the storm, may have caused the rapid erosion, he said.

(more)
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Richard Lamb
http://www.home.earthlink.net/~cavelamb
http://www.home.earthlink.net/~sv_temptress