February 2010 MAINE COASTAL NEWS Page 19. Maritime History: March to 31 July 1876
I was recently mailed six binders of pho- tocopied newspaper articles from the Repub- lican Journal of Belfast from the early 1900s. These articles discuss new vessel construc- tion, ship disasters, sea captains, industry and some discussions on the past. There is no question that these articles will fill in additional gaps of our maritime history and that is why it is so important to transcribe these articles for easy searching. In the last issue I covered the months of January and February for 1876 and in this issue will be March to the end of July. There are numerous disasters and loss of life, the passing of some sea captains, including William McGilvery, and general happenings for this time period. This was the height of the sailing merchant marine, which is evident by the amount of maritime news.
2 March Between Fire and Water [From the Hartford Courant, January 27th ]
Charles S. Thomson, jun., the first officer of the Boston ship HELEN MORRIS, recently reported burned at sea, arrived home by steamer from Aspinwall on Tuesday, and is now at the residence of his father, Dr. C. S. Thomson, of New Haven, (Seventh Ward). He brings the first detailed account of the disaster, and of the experiences of the crew after leaving the ship. The ship was a fine one, nearly new, owned by Messrs. Baker & Morrill, of Boston, and commanded by Cap- tain Bursley. She sailed on the 8th
of June from
Shields-on-Tyne, England, bound for San Francisco with coal. She had a tedious voy- age, being kept twenty-two days in the En- glish Channel by baffling winds. She reached Cape Horn the middle of September, and hung there for fifty four days, jammed by westerly winds and unable to round the cape. Afterwards the continued westerly winds kept her several hundred miles to the west of the usual route up the coast.
Off Juan Fernandez she lost her lower topsails in a heavy gale. On the afternoon of Friday, the 26th
of November, (latitude 28 deg.
21 min., longitude 68 deg. 20 min.,) the officers discovered a little smoke coming up the main hatchway. They suspected fire, and ordered the hatches covered until the morning of the 27th
burning coal drove the officers out of the cabin to the deck, where they passed the night. On Sunday a brisk breeze sprang up about noon, and the ship made good head- way until ten minutes past six in the evening, when the forces of the gases in the hold blew off the hatches and started the decks with an explosion which created great consternation among the crew. In anticipation of the worst all preparations had been made for leaving the ship, the boats were provisioned and supplied with water, and the officers and men had their clothing ready for a sudden depar- ture.
, when an examination showed that fire was burning in the lower hold. An attempt was made to get at it, and some fifty tons of coal were removed, but it was found that the efforts only gave the fire greater draft. It was useless to attempt to put it out with water, and so the hatches were battened down and all ventilation cut off. The ship had been headed for the shore when the fire was first discov- ered, but little progress had been made on account of light winds and calm. On the evening of the 27th
(Saturday) the gas from the
As soon as the explosion occurred, the sails were tacked and the ship brought dead into the wind, and the boats were lowered. There were two boats, one the long-boat of about six tons, the other the life-boat of four tons. In the first Captain Bursley and First Officer, Thomson embarked, with a passen- ger and nine of the crew. The second and third mates, with eight men took the life boat. The boats were launched safely, although Mr. Thomson was disabled by having both his hands badly jammed in helping launch the life-boat. It was about twenty minutes from the explosion until the last man left the ship. The boats pulled to the windward of the ship a mile or two and there waited. The flames broke out at the fore-hatch of the ship, which burned until four o’clock the next morning. The boats then headed for shore, using oars until daylight, when the sails were raised. In the meantime the wind had increased, and by morning was blowing half a gale, with a heavy sea. The boats kept together during most of the night by the use of lights, but before morning the life-boat made off to leeward and soon after morning was lost to sight. The long-boat, after making sail, headed for land, which was about six hundred miles to the west. All day Monday a brisk wind blew which by night became a gale, and made it necessary to bring the boat to, which was done by the use of a dredge and the oars. At nine o’clock the sea became so rough that it was evident the boat, which was in poor condition and leaked badly, would swamp unless lightened, and every thing was thrown overboard except the provisions and instruments, leaving the men with only the clothes they wore. Thus lightened the boat lived through the storm, which by daylight abated so that sail was again made, and the craft kept in her course all day. The men, who were soaked through, were chilled to numb- ness by the cold.
Tuesday night the wind increased again and the boat again hove to and passed the night as before, the men at the oars all night. Wednesday, December 1st
, was a repetition of
the same experience, sailing all day and laying to at night – all hands being obliged to work
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Cyrus Hagge (left) with Jason Curtis of PYS launching Cyrus’boat on a clear 20° day in February.
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A view of David Gay's wharf in Rockland, 1873.
to their utmost at the oars to keep the boat out of the trough of the sea. Sleep was impossible and the suffering of all was intense. Thurs- day, sail was made all day, and in the night the wind died down and the sea became calm and the men were allowed to lie down and try to rest. On Friday, the 3rd
, a good breeze all day,
followed at night by a gale which required the utmost exertions of everybody to keep from swamping. On Saturday morning the sails were raised about daylight, the men all worn out with overwork and exposure, and only the Captain and Mr. Thomson able to keep watch. About half-past seven they sighted the American Bark AMELIA, from Coquimbo, which picked up the sufferers and carried them to Guayacan, a little port just back of Coquimbo, whence they were taken by the United States steamer RICHMOND, Admiral Worden, to Valparaiso. Captain
Bursley and Mr. Thomson made their way by coasting steamers, stopping at Callao, to Panama, and thence from Aspinwall by the steamer COLOGNE to New York, which they reached on Tuesday. At Callao they found the second mate with the crew of the life-boat, who, after being out three days and suffering much, had been rescued by a vessel bound for Callao.
This is the substance of Captain Thomson’s story. It was a thrilling experience and a timely escape, and, considering the hardships endured by the men in both boats, it is remarkable that not a single life was lost.
9 March SHIP NEWS
NEW YORK, March 6. The schooner Continued on Page 20.
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USCG PHOTO BY PA1 TOM SPERDUTO
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