Pardon the length. Coast Guard Veteran here, and if I ramble, just stop at the end of the blockquote about the Elissa.
You can visit (and photograph) all these ships.
Wikipedia has great (surprise) info:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elissa_(ship)
Very briefly:
Elissa was built in Aberdeen, Scotland as a merchant vessel in a time when steamships were overtaking sailing ships. She was launched on October 27, 1877. The vessel was named for the niece of Henry Fowler Watt, Elissa's first owner, though according to his descendants the ship was named for the Queen of Carthage, Elissa (more commonly called Dido), Aeneas' tragic lover in the epic poem The Aeneid.
In July 2011, the U.S. Coast Guard declared Elissa to be "not seaworthy." The Coast Guard inspection in 2011 revealed a corroded hull. The tall ship is inspected twice every five years, said John Schaumburg, museum assistant director. The 2011 inspection uncovered the worst corrosion since the tall ship was rebuilt in 1982, he said. Texas Seaport Museum raised the $3 million that paid for hull replacement and other long-overdue maintenance projects, finishing in January 2013. The museum also replaced the 22,000 board feet of Douglas fir decking and building new quarterdeck furniture out of high quality teak. Elissa returned to sailing once again in March 2014. She ran a series of daily sails for a period of two weeks out of her home port of Galveston.
Elissa remains one of the world's oldest sailing hulls still in operation.
Some other ships of note:
The USS Potomac, FDR's "yacht", is actually a former Coast Guard Cutter, the Electra, commissioned in 1934. And it is now berthed in Oakland, CA. Open to visitors, check in advance.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Potomac_(AG-25)
Another interesting story.
USS Potomac was decommissioned by President Harry S. Truman, who chose the larger USS Williamsburg as his presidential yacht. Unlike his predecessor, Truman was not a sailor and could not handle the extreme rolling on the Potomac. Being an accomplished classical pianist, Truman also wanted a grand piano aboard his yacht, which the Potomac could not accommodate. The Coast Guard decommissioned Potomac on May 23, 1946. (Wait, it gets better!) ...
In January 1964 she was purchased by Elvis Presley for US$55,000. Presley offered the vessel to the March of Dimes, which could not use it. He then gave Potomac to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, in Memphis, to sell as a fund raiser. The hospital was able to sell the yacht that same year for US$65,000. Potomac was then registered in 1967 to Marie Augustina Pagliasso of Sanger, California with the call sign WA9710. In January 1970, the vessel was out of documentation. It was rumored that that there were plans to turn the yacht into a floating disco.
1980–present
In 1980, Potomac was involved in a large-scale drug-running operation in Mexico, which led to a drug bust at San Francisco's Pier 26. No drugs were found aboard the yacht, but drugs were found aboard the yacht it had been traveling with. Potomac was seized by the United States Customs Service and towed to nearby Treasure Island, where she sank. ...
After being refloated by the U.S. Navy just two weeks later, Potomac was sold to the first and only bidder, the nearby Port of Oakland, for $15,000.
And of course, the
USCGC Eagle, a REAL tall ship, most of the time in New London, CT, at the Coast Guard Academy.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USCGC_Eagle_(WIX-327)
USCGC Eagle (WIX-327), formerly the Horst Wessel and also known as the Barque Eagle, is a 295-foot (90 m) barque used as a training cutter for future officers of the United States Coast Guard. ...
The ship was built as the German sail training ship Horst Wessel in 1936; it served to train German sailors in sail techniques until decommissioned at the start of World War II. The vessel was given anti-aircraft armament and re-commissioned in 1942. At the end of the war, Horst Wessel was taken by the U.S. as war reparations.
People can visit the Eagle when it makes a port call.
https://www.uscga.edu/eagle-schedule/
Scheduled tour times are released to local media before each port call. Please check your local news outlets for information. No R.S.V.P. is required.
AND FYI
The Eagle will visit Galveston June 10 to June 14 2022.
You many also want to visit:
The USS Constitution, "Old Ironsides" in Boston, or
The Joseph Conrad, A sailing ship rescued from Davy Jones' Locker! Now berthed at the Mystic CT Seaport Museum.
Enough Sea Stories for now.
THAT IS ALL!
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