Title
Declaring the historic Gazela Primeiro as the official Tall Ship of the City of Philadelphia.
Body
WHEREAS, Gazela Primeiro as it is known today was built in Setubal, Portugal in 1901; and
WHEREAS, Gazela Primeiro is the oldest wooden, square-rigged tall ship still actively sailing in the United States; and
WHEREAS, Gazela Primeiro is docked at Penn's Landing as a tourist attraction; and
WHEREAS, Gazela Primeiro was built to carry fishermen to the Grand Banks of Newfoundland, where 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 in her hold would be 90 tons of salt, which would be used to preserve the cod fish that were caught; and
WHEREAS, Upon the retirement of Gazela Primeiro in 1969, the ship was purchased by philanthropist William Wikoff Smith for the purpose of displaying it at what is today the Independence Seaport Museum; and
WHEREAS, On May 24, 1971, with a crew of Americans (including one former Gazela engineer), 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 8th, made her first entrance into Philadelphia; and
WHEREAS, Since 1976, Gazela Primeiro flying the flag of the City of Philadelphia has sailed to events along the eastern seaboard of the United States including New York, Boston and Baltimore as the unofficial Tall Ship and Goodwill Ambassador of the City and Port of Philadelphia; and
WHEREAS, Ownership of Gazela Primeiro passed from the Independence Seaport Museum to the City of Philadelphia in 1982, and then in 1988, to the non-profit Philadelphia Ship Preservation Guild; and
WHEREAS, Gazela Primeiro is today maintained and sailed by the volunteer members of the guild, from all walks of life and ages 17 to 70's, whose stories have been recently published in the book The Heart of a Ship; and
WHEREAS, Gazela Primeiro serves as a source of pride to the Portuguese American community in Philadelphia and a link between Portugal and the City of Philadelphia; now, therefore be it
RESOLVED, THAT THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, Declares the Gazela Primeiro as the official Tall Ship of the City of Philadelphia.
FURTHER RESOLVED, That an Engrossed copy of this resolution be presented to the Philadelphia Ship Preservation Guild, further evidencing the sincere admiration and respect of this legislative body.
End