''Gazela'' is a wooden tall ship, built in 1901, whose home port is

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. She was built as a commercial fishing vessel, and used in that capacity for more than sixty years. She now serves as the maritime goodwill ambassador for the City of Philadelphia, the

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Maryland to its south, West ...

, and the Ports of

and

Camden, New Jersey Camden is a City (New Jersey), city in Camden County, New Jersey, Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the Delaware Valley metropolitan region. The city was incorporated on February 13, 1828.Snyder, John P''The Story of ...

. She has been featured in a number of films, and participated in domestic and international events, including OpSail 2000.

History

The

barquentine A barquentine or schooner barque (alternatively "barkentine" or "schooner bark") is a sailing vessel with three or more masts; with a square rigged foremast and fore-and-aft rigged main, mizzen and any other masts. Modern barquentine sailing ...

''Gazela Primeiro'' (meaning ''

Gazelle A gazelle is one of many antelope species in the genus ''Gazella'' . There are also seven species included in two further genera; '' Eudorcas'' and '' Nanger'', which were formerly considered subgenera of ''Gazella''. A third former subgenus, ' ...

the First'' in Portuguese) was built in the shipyard of J. M. Mendes in

Setúbal Setúbal ( , , ; ), officially the City of Setúbal (), is a city and a municipality in Portugal. The population of the entire municipality in 2014 was 118,166, occupying an area of . The city itself had 89,303 inhabitants in 2001. It lies withi ...

, Portugal in 1883. At that time the Portuguese fisheries authorities had a regulation prohibiting the construction of new vessels for the Grand Banks cod fishery. It was however permissible to modify or "rebuild" an existing vessel. The best information available indicates that the registration of a much smaller, two-masted vessel built in Cacilhas in 1883, named ''Gazella'' (spelled with two Ls), was transferred by the owners to the newly built vessel in 1901. There is no evidence that any timbers from the earlier vessel were re-used in the construction of the later one; a practice which would make no sense to a commercial wooden shipbuilder in the 1900s. ''Gazela'' was built to carry fishermen to the

Grand Banks The Grand Banks of Newfoundland are a series of underwater plateaus south-east of the island of Newfoundland on the North American continental shelf. The Grand Banks are one of the world's richest fishing grounds, supporting Atlantic cod, swordfi ...

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...

. Every spring she would leave

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

, laden with as many as 35 dories stacked on deck like drinking cups, a crew of 40 men (35 fishermen/sailors, two cooks, two mates and the captain), and a couple of apprentices. Her cargo hold would be full of salt as

ballast Ballast is dense material used as a weight to provide stability to a vehicle or structure. Ballast, other than cargo, may be placed in a vehicle, often a ship or the gondola of a balloon or airship, to provide stability. A compartment within ...

. The salt would be used for the fish that were caught (cod, flounder, halibut, haddock and perch), preserving them for the long trip home. ''Gazela'' could stow upwards of 350 tons of salted fish in her holds. ''Gazela'' was engine-less until 1938, when a Mannheim-Benz diesel engine was installed. With the depletion of cod on the Grand Banks, vessels were being forced to fish the

Davis Strait The Davis Strait (Danish language, Danish: ''Davisstrædet'') is a southern arm of the Arctic Ocean that lies north of the Labrador Sea. It lies between mid-western Greenland and Baffin Island in Nunavut, Canada. To the north is Baffin Bay. The ...

, between Greenland and Baffin Island, Canada. The contrary winds and frequent icebergs in this area made life difficult for ships without engines. To accommodate the propeller, a new rudder post was installed and her counter was extended approximately 10–12 feet, giving her a long overhanging transom. After a remarkably long commercial career, ''Gazela''s last voyage to the Grand Banks of Newfoundland as a commercial fishing ship was made in 1969.

Philadelphia

''Gazela'' was purchased by philanthropist William Wikoff Smith for the Philadelphia Maritime Museum in 1971. The ship sailed for Philadelphia on May 24, 1971, with a crew of Americans (including one former Gazela engineer Manuel M. Rocha). She traced

Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451–1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, the capital city of the U.S. state of Ohio * Columbus, Georgia, a city i ...

' route via the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...

and

San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan ( , ; Spanish for "Saint John the Baptist, John") is the capital city and most populous Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality in the Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the ...

and on Thursday, July 8, made her first entrance into Philadelphia. In 1985, ''Gazela'' was transferred to the Philadelphia Ship Preservation Guild, the not-for-profit corporation that now maintains and operates the vessel with the help of donors and volunteers, sending her as Philadelphia's

tall ship A tall ship is a large, traditionally-rigging, rigged sailing vessel. Popular modern tall ship rigs include topsail schooners, brigantines, brigs and barques. "Tall ship" can also be defined more specifically by an organization, such as for a r ...

to events up and down the eastern seaboard of the U.S. ''Gazela'' spends the spring and summer months cruising the

Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and is the longest free-flowing (undammed) river in the Eastern United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock, New York, the river flows for a ...

and the Atlantic Coast. In the winter months ''Gazela'' is maintained by volunteer members of the Philadelphia Ship Preservation Guild.

Gallery

File:Rear of gazela-lowlav.JPG, Diorama shot of ''Gazela'' docked at Penns Landing, Philadelphia, PA File:gazela3.jpg, A small wooden dory used for bringing fish back to the ''Gazela''

In print and film

*''Civil War Gold'', a National Geographic documentary chronicling the history of the SS ''Republic'', a Civil War sidewheel steamship. 2003. *'' The Widow of Saint-Pierre'', a French film nominated for a Golden Globe. 2000. *''The Irish In America'', a PBS documentary tracing the ethnic history of Irish immigrants to the United States. 1998. *'' Interview With A Vampire'', a dramatic feature film starring Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt. 1994. *

Alan Villiers Alan John Villiers, DSC (23 September 1903 – 3 March 1982) was a writer, adventurer, photographer and mariner. Born in Melbourne, Australia, Villiers first went to sea at age 15 and sailed on board traditionally rigged vessels, including t ...

; ''The Quest of the Schooner Argus'' (1951 Charles Scribner's Sons) Includes pictures and narrative of interaction with ''Gazela''.

References

External links