Group hopes it can right the Amistad's Finances

[Soundbounder]

A dozen years ago the recreation of the Amistad was launched at Mystic Seaport to great fanfare.

The schooner, which tells an inspiring story of freedom and interracial cooperation, made its official debut at OpSail 2000 in New York Harbor and then began annual tours of ports across the country, attracting large crowds wherever it went.

In the spring of 2010, its parent organization, New Haven-based Amistad America, took the schooner to Cuba, where the story of the original ship began in 1839.

Since then, it's been rough sailing.

During its transit back to Connecticut, the hardware attached to the bowsprit was damaged, requiring an estimated $100,000 in repairs. The damage caused the ship to lose its Coast Guard license to carry passengers and forced the cancellation of a lucrative fundraising trip to the Great Lakes. This came at a time when interest in the ship, coming off the Cuba visit, was at an all-time high.

Since then, the ship, which has received more than $6.4 million in state funding, has remained at Mystic Seaport, where it was built.
There were no trips last year as Amistad America tried to find the money to do the repairs and then restructured its $280,000 debt with TD Bank, which had filed a lien against the nonprofit organization.

"There were times last year when I was deeply concerned if we could get through the next two months," admitted Amistad America CEO Greg Belanger in an interview last week.

New London Day

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