The barquentineGazela Primeiro was built in the shipyard of J. M. Mendes in Setúbal, Portugal in 1883. At that time the Portuguese fisheries authorities had a regulation prohibiting the construction of new vessels for the Grand Bankscod 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, 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 of Newfoundland. Every spring she would leave Lisbon, laden with as many as 35 dories stacked on deck like drinking cups, a crew of 40 men, and a couple of apprentices. Her cargo hold would be full of salt as ballast. The salt would be used for the fish that were caught, 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, 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, Gazelas last voyage to the Grand Banks of Newfoundland as a commercial fishing ship was made in 1969.
Philadelphia
About the time Gazela was laid-up after her final voyage to the Banks, the Philadelphia Maritime Museum was searching for an historic sailing vessel. Word reached Gazelas owners and the following year, she was purchased for the museum by philanthropist William Wikoff Smith. On May 24, 1971, with a crew of Americans, the ship left for its new home in Philadelphia, tracing Columbus' route via the Canary Islands and San Juan, Puerto Rico 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 to events up and down the eastern seaboard of the U.S. Gazela spends the spring and summer months cruising the Delaware River and the Atlantic Coast. In the winter months Gazela is maintained by volunteer members of the Philadelphia Ship Preservation Guild.
Gallery
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.
