Phyllis A Marine Association

Met up with lots of old friends after what seemed like a very long winter.

Ed Wagner, Phyllis Arnold Wagner’s (the Phyllis A.’s namesake) son dropped by with his cousins Janet and Sally Arnold (PA’s last skipper, Richard Arnold’s daughters), to pick up the Phyllis A.’s name boards. We are thrilled that he just happened to be in town from Virginia and saw the article in the Times about the Maritime Saturday.

Who better to have the name boards of the family’s boat!

Unfortunately the time has come to say good bye to the old Phyllis A. The Arnold men who fished the vessel for 75 years would be disappointment, but they would understand. For 17 years we have tried to keep her going but the time has come to let her respectfully go.

If you are interested in having a piece of her hull, we would love for you to have it. Doug is down at the Gloucester Marine Railways nearly every morning working on cutting her up. You can stop by and talk to him or give us a call at 978-283-9292 to make arrangements to meet you at the vessel. To help us raise the money to complete our task, we would love it if you could give us a donation for the wood.

We will also be at the Railways for Maritime Saturdays, June 3rd, July 8th, August 5th and September 2nd. Don’t wait too long though, the dismantling will continue most of the summer but when it’s gone, it’s gone.

This is a notice we hoped we would never make. With a great amount of reluctance but a hefty dose of reality, The Phyllis A. Marine Association has decided that it is no longer feasible to continue to restore the vessel. We have been at this for 17 years through the help and assistance of a great many people. We thank you all tremendously, but we have never been able to put together the huge finances that we need to do this job right and we are all 17 years older.

The organization will continue with hopes to increase our historical records and continue part of our mission statement. The hard part now is to raise the funds to remove the vessel. That will be difficult.