Page 22. MAINE COASTAL NEWS May 2016 Continued from Page 21.


HISTORY FROM THE PAST - Bangor Daily Commercial - Early 1900s During the night the masts were carried


four anchors, whose total weight was 13,560 pounds, and 210 fathoms of chain. She had three houses and an octagonal wheelhouse. She was equipped with modern steam hoisting apparatus and pumps. Her full spread of canvas was about $500 yards. She was built by Washburn Bros., Thomaston. The vessel is owned by various persons


in common. Mr. Thomas for whom she is named, owns one-quarter, it is understood, and Capt. Lermond one-eight. James Pierce of Boston and Washburn Bros., the builders are also part owners. Capt. Lermond is a native of Thomaston


and about 60 years old. He had three children, including a young son of 16 and a married daughter, who were on board with him. With him on the vessel was also his second wife, a young woman whom he married last winter after being a widower a number of years. Like nearly all the men of Thomaston, he has sailed the sea since he was old enough to leave school, and has invested his savings in buying shares in vessels. The vessel was named for Washington


B. Thomas, formerly of Charlestown, now of Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, and Boston director of the American Sugar Refi ning company. He is a son of the late Capt. Joseph B. Thomas of Charlestown, who bequeathed to him, as one of his sons, a large fortune made in sugar long before the consolidation of interests in that business. Out in Storm All Night.


The two-masted British schooner, V.


T. H., Capt. W. H. Delap, bound from Bear River, N. S., for Boston, with a cargo of fi rewood and piling, went ashore at midnight Saturday night on Sea Point, Kittery, and she is now a total wreck. The captain, his wife, and the fi ve members of the crew, clung to the rigging all night, but got ashore Sunday morning without any assistance.


away, and Sunday morning the schooner was a total loss. The V. T. H. was built at Digby, 1888,


and she was 1,164 gross tonnage and 149 net tonnage. She was owned by A. Marshall of Bear River. The vessel’s cargo was not insured. The members of the crew were Mate Charles Verdy, Steward Herbert Potter, Seamen Kenneth Dondale, Lester Dondale and Samuel Bobear, all of Nova Scotia. Two Fishermen Lost.


All the Greek fi shermen caught in the


storm off Point Judith near Newport, R. I., on Friday, have returned to Newport, and report the worst storm they ever knew. The sloop MERMAID, with two brothers, John and George Palmer, which was riding out the gale behind the breakwater at Point Judith, dragged her anchor, and was blown out to sea. The men close reefed their mainsail, and attempted to work in under the breakwater but in vain. It was reported from Point Judith


Saturday that a small vessel like the MERMAID was seen passing out to sea, abandoned, and there is little doubt the two men were lost. John Palmer had been in Newport but a short time, while George had been fi shing 30 years. Both had families. Wreck of Unknown Steamer.


The Canadian government steamer


LADY LAURIAN, which sailed from Sable Island to land some Belgian ponies and supplies for the residents of the island, returned to Halifax Sunday afternoon. The weather was moderate and a landing was made Saturday at daybreak. Word was brought back by the steamer


that some fi shermen landed on the island several days ago and reported having seen the hull of a large steamer in three fathoms of water off the west end light. The steamer, they said, appeared to be clean and bright, and evidently had not been in the water for any great length of time. There were no


masts or funnels to be seen. Disasters to Shipping.


Steamer H. M. WHITNEY, from New


York Sunday afternoon brought to Boston four shipwrecked seamen, Capt. Charles Flower, First Mate J. H. Hay, Cook Joseph McClusky and Seaman C. Sheridan, of the two masted schooner PROGRESS of St. John, N. B., which was in collision with a tow of barges in tow of tug LEHIGH, on Shovelful shoal Saturday night. The schooner fouled the hawser and was struck by the stern barge, carrying away bowsprit, and both fore and mainmast. The crew abandoned the schooner and rowed in their yawl to Pollock Rip lightship. Sunday they got their eff ects from the vessel, then returned to the lightship, from which they were taken to the WHITNEY. The schooner was boarded by wreckers from Monomoy who bought her as stood. Fishing schooner ALICE M. GUTHRIE


of Boston, Capt. Guthrie, arrived Sunday with a large hole in her bow and wholly dismasted, the result of a collision at 3:30 a.m. Friday, with the fi ve-masted schooner BAKER PALMER, 75 miles southeast of Highland Light. The PALMER started to tow the GUTHRIE but the hawser parted and the schooner’s crew were obliged to rig jury masts in order to reach Boston. The EMERSON Towed In.


The T. A. Scott Wrecking company’s


tug ALERT Sunday towed into the harbor of New London, Connecticut, the wrecked schooner FRED A. EMERSON, which was capsized in the Race in Friday’s gale. The wreck was picked up off Montauk Point. The body of a boy 16 or 17 years old was lashed to the rigging. The names of the two sailors lost in the wreck were given by the survivors whom the LUGANO rescued as Arquith of Camden, Maine, and George Wayland of Portland, Maine. It is not known which of the two the boy is.


The SHAMROCKS Arrive Safe and sound, after a rather rough


passage from Gourock, Scotland, of 16 days and 22 hours, Sir Thomas Lipton’s latest challenger for the America’s Cup, the SHAMROCK III, is now lying at anchor off Tompkinsville, Staten Island, New York, where she arrived at 10:20 Sunday morning in company with the steam yacht ERIN, which had towed her most of the way across the Atlantic and the SHAMROCK I, towed by the British tug CRUISER. The one hundred and fi fty-six men who manned the yachts and their conveys are all well and there were no accidents to mar the passage. Between Gourock and Fayal, Azores,


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


where the steamers stopped for coal, calms and squally weather were encountered. The ERIN and her tow became separated from the CRUISER and the SHAMROCK I, before reaching Fayal but they never lost sight of each other after leaving there. The weather was fairly good except on June 12, when the yachts were caught in a gale from the southeast and while it blew very hard and a heavy sea was running the yachts shipped very little water and no damage was done. The tug CHARLES E. MATTHEWS,


in charge of H. Pier Davies, met the yachts at daylight 20 miles east of Sandy Hook lightship, Pilots Thomas Conley and Frank Johnson were put on board the ERIN at sea and the MATTHEWS towed the SHAMROCK III to quarantine, the SHAMROCK I, being towed by the CRUISER. The yachts passed Sandy Hook lightship soon after 6 o’clock Sunday morning. They were saluted by every vessel that passed them, all the way to quarantine. The new challenger is a far handsomer


craft than either the SHAMROCK I or II. She looks not unlike the COLUMBIA above


the water line, and her beam seems greater than either of those yachts. She tows easily, making a very little broken water at the bow, and leaving a clean wake. Her captain, Robert Wringe, says she behaved splendidly under all conditions of weather during the passage across the Atlantic. She is rigged as a sloop with a short bowsprit and a topmast over a short stout lower mast. Following is a log of the ERIN for the


passage: S. Y. “ERIN”


Abstract of the voyage. Sailed from Gourock, 1 p.m., Thursday,


May 28, 1903.


May 29, noon, distance 200 miles. May 30, 200 miles. May 31, 285 miles. June 1, 280 miles; 2nd


June 5, 194 miles; 6th miles; 8th miles; 11th


195 miles. June 14th , 233 miles; 9th , 284 miles; 3rd ,


arrived at Fayal, Azores, 7 a.m., distance, 230 miles; 4th


, sailed from Fayal at 4 p.m.; , 234 miles; 7th , 229 miles; 10th


, 193 miles; 12th , 225 miles; 13th


, 238 , 237 ,


arrived at Sandy Hook,


6 a.m. Distance, 185 miles. Total distance, 3644 miles. At 12:30 Sunday morning, when the


ERIN was 100 miles east of Sandy Hook the wireless telegraph operator on the ERIN succeeded in raising the Coney Island station. Capt. Matthews sent the following message to be cabled to Sir Thomas Lipton: “Fleet arrived safely, Sandy Hook.


Experienced rough weather during voyage. SHAMROCKs all right. Wireless working well 100 miles. (Signed) “MATTHEWS” The reply to this message was received


on board the ERIN by wireless from the Coney Island station at 8:55 a.m.: “Delighted receive good news. Convey


to all offi cers and men my best wishes. I hope they are all well and fi t as fi ddles. * * * * *


Whalen Lost


Bangor Sailor Met Death on Schooner FRED A. EMERSON Capt. Ulmer Saved


Albert Flag Supposed to be of Hampden Saved and Edward Arquith Drowned. Word was received by the Sterns


Lumber Co. late Monday afternoon from Capt. I. B. Ulmer of Hampden, master of the Bangor schooner, FRED A. EMERSON, which was capsized Friday in the gale while bound to New York. The telegram stated that George Whalen of Bangor, and Edward Arquith of Hampden, were lost while Albert Flagg, supposedly of Hampden, and Capt. Ulmer of that town were saved. It has also been learned that the little


schooner, which is one of the staunchest of her size, which ever sailed from Bangor, has righted and been towed into port. She is owned by Capt. Ulmer and the


Sterns Lumber Co. It is not known how much she is damaged.


17 June 1903 At the Wreck


Tug PORTLAND and Lighter Visited WASHINGTON B. THOMAS Capt. Lermond Better


The Stranded Schooner Has Not Moved and Will Probably Remain as She is all Summer.


Bangor people generally and the


shipping men in particular have taken great interest in the recent wrecking of the big schooner, WASHINGTON B. THOMAS, off Old Orchard last week. It was in this wreck that Capt. Lermond lost his wife, the only fatality connected with the aff air. On Monday the tug PORTLAND and


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