Page 22. MAINE COASTAL NEWS March 2016
HISTORY FROM THE PAST - Bangor Daily Commercial - Early 1900s Congress.
There seems to be a great difference of opinion and much controversy as to the proper names for the masts of the sixmasted schooners and the sevenmaster, THOMAS W. LAWSON. The suggestion that the masts of the LAWSON be named for the days of the week has not been accepted. “How would it sound to about such orders as these,” said one captain when asked his opinion on the matter: Furl Wednesday, lower away the Thursday peak, reef Monday, and a lot of stuff like that?” It was conceded that it would be queer sounding sailor talk, and yet it would be easy to remember.
The questions of naming the masts has been a puzzle that seafaring men themselves could not solve. There have been endless queries from people interested to know the names by which the different masts are designated and in almost every instance the answers have disagreed.
Some seafaring men and shipowners say that the masts should be designated as fore, main, mizzen, spanker, jigger, driver and pusher but the captains of the only three six-masters afl oat and the seven-master LAWSON do not concur.
The matter has been discussed by them at length, whenever it was possible to meet and fi nally an agreement was reached regarding the naming of the masts, which must be taken as offi cial.
Capt. M. McLean of the six-master,
GEORGE W. WELLS, now anchored in Boston Harbor awaiting a discharging berth, says that the proper names for the masts of vessels of the type of the WELLS, are main, mizzen, No. 4, No. 5, and spanker, and that the recognized named for the LAWSON’s masts are fore, main, mizzen, No. 4, No. 5, No. 6 and spanker.
The same opinion is held by Capt. Linc Jewett of the six-master ELEANOR A. PERCY and Capt. Arthur Crowley of the
THOMAS W. LAWSON. Capt. John G. Crowley, the managing owner of the Crowley fl eet, said that in an interview just before the LAWSON was launched last summer he mentioned in a joking way, that the seventh mast should be called a pusher and that what he said at that time was taken seriously.
He said that the spanker mast is the aftermost mast of a vessel, no matter how many masts the craft may have and he believes that the proper way to designate the masts is to number them between the third, or mizzen mast and the last mast. The introduction of the sixth and seven masts into vessels of the fore and aft type has set many a wise seadog’s head wagging over the names that these sticks should have, and many warm arguments have resulted. But the matter has apparently been settled to the satisfaction of those most interested in the names of the masts of schooners are as follows: Twomaster, fore and main; threemaster, fore, main and mizzen; fourmaster, four, main mizzen and spanker; fi vemaster, fore, main, mizzen, No. 4 and spanker; sixmaster fore, main, mizzen, No. 4, No. 5, and spanker; sevenmaster, fore, main, mizzen, No. 4, No. 5, No. 6 and spanker.
7 March 1903 Contract for Lumber for HORACE A. STONE, Placed. News of the Shipping
A New Type of Schooner with No Top- Mast Being Built – Maritime Notes E. & I. K. Stetson, who are to build a
four-masted schooner in their yard at Brewer this spring, have placed the contract for the lumber with the Hilton, Dodge Lumber Co., of New York. This company will furnish 330,000 feet. In all probability the lumber will be shipped from Brunswick, Georgia, by the schooner EDWARD STEWART, now in Jacksonville loading cypress for Portland.
The new vessel, as has been stated in the Commercial, is for Capt. Charles Trask now in the I. K. Stetson and will be named the HORACE A. STONE. A new type of schooner is now
being built at West Mystic by the Holmes Shipbuilding Co. for Capt. C. A. Davis of Providence, managing owner of the Providence fleet, comprising the five- master GOV. AMES, the new four-master BENJAMIN F. POOLE and the new three- master HOPE SHERWOOD. The new four- master, which will be named after a young Providence man, will be a very remarkable craft in the eyes of those who are familiar with shipping.
Her masts will be somewhat longer than the lower masts of an ordinarily rigged schooner, so that, without topsails or masts, she will spread as much canvas as is usually shown by a vessel of her size. The innovation does away with the expense of three spars and the accompanying rigging, and it is claimed that it will be as practical to reduce sail in a blow by reefi ng as by taking in topsails.
Old timers regard the new “baldheaded” schooner as they term her, as an experiment, but Capt. Davis, who built the fi rst fi ve- master ever constructed, winks his other eye, and is inclined to believe that the “baldheaded” craft will sit in the front row, figuratively speaking, when profits are divided. This schooner will be built for the coastwise trade, will cost $36,000, and will carry 525,000 feet of lumber. She will be 160 feet on the keel, 36 feet beam and 13 feet deep. It is expected that she will be launched about the middle of September. BR. BARKENTINE in Distress A dispatch from Port Clyde says that Friday forenoon while the U. S. S. WOODBURY, in command of Capt. Chaytor, was cruising to the eastward signals of distress were seen fl ying at Port Clyde. The cutter was immediately headed that way and found the British barkentine CUBA ashore just inside Marshall point. The Burnt island life saving crew was standing by.
DISCOUNT POWER TOOLS CORDED POWER TOOLS CORDLESS POWER TOOLS FUELED POWER TOOLS PNEUMATIC POWER TOOLS FASTENERS HAND TOOLS
MATERIAL HANDLING
POWER TOOL ACCESSORIES SAFETY SUPPLIES WELDING SUPPLIES
Lieut. Ulke of the WOODBURY immediately boarded the vessel and found that she was not leaking and was resting quite easily on a shoal. Lines were gotten out from the cutter so that as the tide rose the barkentine could be pulled into a safe offi ng and she proceeded to Bath uninjured. The CUBA struck during the thick weather last night. She is on the ice shore and there is still quite a sea running but owing to her easy position the offi cers of the WOODBURY do not have the slightest doubts of getting her off on the high tide this afternoon.
12 March 1903 Two Damaged
Schooners SADIE WILCUTT and SARAH C. DAVIS Suffered. Seven Others Escape Nine Schooners in the River When the Ice Went Out Early Wednesday Morning – Their Positions When the ice went out of the Penobscot river from Bangor down, early Thursday morning, there were nine schooners which had been frozen in the river all winter. They were the DECORRA, THERESA WOLFF, JONATHAN SAWYER, POCASSETT, SADIE WILCUTT, ANNIE P. CHASE, SARAH C. DAVIS, IZETTA and MINONASH.
The DECORRA lay in the river at the mouth of the Kenduskeag stream. She started with the ice at about 6 o’clock, Wednesday evening, and had two men on board at the time. She was able to get out an anchor and stopped at the Maine Central
railroad wharves, just below the Boston boat wharf. She was not damaged at all. The schooner THERESA WOLFF was also at the Maine Central wharf on Thursday and was uninjured. Schooner JONATHAN SAWYER is at High Head and is all safe and sound.
Schooner SADIE WILCUTT was loaded with lumber and when the ice went out she was rammed against a pier and a hole stove in her. She is at one of Henry Lord & Co.’s ice houses, just above Riverside park, Hampden, and is full of water, her cargo of lumber keeping her afl oat. She is a three- master. It is said that she was fl oating on the river and was taken to the wharf by Messrs. Perkins and Lawler who claim salvage. The ANNIE P. CHASE is at Ayer’s mill and is all right. Schooner SARAH C. DAVIS which was at Ayer’s with a load of lumber and was the most seriously damaged. Her railings and some of the spars were broken and it was reported that some of her ribs were knocked in. The captain said on Thursday that he should proceed to Belfast where he would discharge a part of his cargo, the deck load at any rate, and have the schooner repaired.
Both the schooners IZETTA and MINQUASH lies at the Maine Central wharf while the IZETTA drifted down to Riverside park at Hampden.
The tug BIZMARK arrived here from
Bath Thursday. She will look after the schooners in the river.
20 March 1903 A Big 3-Master Ashore Portland Schooner SEBAGO in Collision with an Unknown Four-master – Badly Damaged.
Chatham, Massachusetts, March 20. –
The large three-masted Portland schooner SEBAGO collided with a four-masted vessel during the night on Nantucket shoals and was badly damaged. Friday morning when the SEBAGO anchored off this port she struck on the bar and at 10 a.m. was pounding heavily.
The vessel with which she collided was
a four-masted schooner but her identity or extent of the injury sustained by her could not be learned by the crew of the SEBAGO. So far as known no lives were lost. The Portland schooner was bound from
New York for her home port with a cargo of coal. Thursday night Capt. C. H. Cogswell was making a good run up the coast before a southwesterly breeze. During the night a thick fog settled down over the entire coast, making navigation particularly hazardous. While proceeding over Nantucket
shoals a large schooner with four masts crashed consternation among the crew below. The impact was a terrible one and practically brought up the Portland vessel all standing. The jibboom and cut water were carried away taking with them parts of the other forward rigging.
The bow of the SEBAGO was stove in close to the water line and the water began to pour into the vessel which was deep in the sea. For a time all hands turned their attention to the boats and had everything in readiness in expectation that their craft would founder. During the confusion the four-master cleared herself from the SEABAGO and disappeared in the fog. When it was seen that that SEBAGO was not in immediate danger her crew manned the pumps and were unsuccessful in keeping the hold comparatively free. * * * * *
Boats Crash in Dense Fog Six Lives Lost in Collision Between Two Big Sound Steamers.
PLYMOUTH and CITY OF TAUNTON
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