History | |
---|---|
United States | |
Name | David T. Leahy |
Namesake | David T. Leahy, American woolen merchant |
Operator | Dennis Reardon |
Builder | C. & R. Poillon |
Cost | $20,000 |
Launched | 3 September 1890 |
Christened | 3 September 1890 |
Out of service | 18 August 1901 |
Renamed | James Gordon Bennett |
Fate | Sank |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | schooner |
Tonnage | 77-tons TM |
Length | 96 ft 0 in (29.26 m) |
Beam | 30 ft 10 in (9.40 m) |
Depth | 9 ft 4 in (2.84 m) |
Propulsion | Sail |
The David T. Leahy was a 19th-century two-masted pilot boat schooner, built in 1890 at the C. & R. Poillon shipyard in New York City. She was named in honor of David T. Leahy, a wealthy woolen merchant. She was said to be the fastest boat in the New York and New Jersey fleet. In 1899, the David T. Leahy was renamed the James Gordon Bennett when the pilots consolidated their business. She sank off Sandy Hook when the German Atlas Line steamship Alene hit her in 1901.
New York pilot-boat David T. Leahy was launched on 3 September 1890 from the C. & R. Poillon shipyard at the foot of Clinton Street, Brooklyn, New York. The launch was witnessed by over thousand people, including Captain Walter Brewer. Lulu Cooper, daughter of Pilot John Cooper, broke the champagne bottle across the bow to christened the new pilot-boat the David T. Leahy. She was said to be the fastest of the twenty-eight pilot-boats in the New York and New Jersey fleet. She was owned by Dennis Reardon, Jeremiah Reardon, John L. Godbey, James D. M. Beebe and Stephen H. Cooper. She took the place of the yacht Macomes. Mr. David T. Leahy, for whom the boat was named, provided the food and entertainment. [1] [2]
On October 1, 1890, the David T. Leahy went on her trail trip. She was pulled out from her moorings at the foot of Peck slip, New York, by a tugboat Adelaide. [3] One hundred and fifty guests were on board as she was towed out to the bay. Speeches were made by the Assistant District Attorney John Clark, Brooklyn Major Joseph Powell, David T. Leahy, New Jersey Pilot Commissioners Captain Robert Simonson, and others. She was known as the Number 5 and took the place of the one lost in the blizzard of 1888. Captain Dennis Reardon was the ship Master. The tugboat dropped the line and the boat sailed out into the bay, but because of the lack of wind, she was towed back. [4] Mr. David T. Leahy was a wealthy retired woolen merchant in New York. The David T. Leahy cost $20,000. [5]
On June 12, 1893, the New York pilot-boat David T. Leahy, No. 5 collided in a thick fog with the Royal Phelps Carroll's Yacht Navahoe 250 miles off Sandy Hook, New Jersey. Pilots Dennis Reardon and Charles Warnor were on the Leahy during the collision. [5] The pilot-boat was damaged and lost her bowsprit and wrenched her stern. [6]
On 6 Nov 1897, Captain Gus Tennessen, one of the oldest members of the New Jersey Pilots' Association, died of a heart attack on board the pilot-boat David T. Leahy off Sandy Hook. There were seven pilots on board the boat. [7]
In 1899, the David T. Leahy was rechristened with the name of an older pilot boat the James Gordon Bennett, which was disposed of when the pilots consolidated their business in 1896. [8]
On August 18, 1901, the pilot-boat James Gordon Bennett, formerly known as the David T. Leahy, sank off Sandy Hook when the German Atlas Line steamship Alene hit the James Gordon Bennett on a clear day. Four of the crew on the James Gordon Bennett drowned. Pilot Fred Hopkins and Alexander Dexter were rescued by the steam pilot-boat New York . Five other crewmen were saved. [8]
James Dean Monroe Beebe was a 19th-century American Sandy Hook Pilot. He is known for being the oldest Sandy Hook-New Jersey pilot, having served for 55 years as a Sandy Hook pilot. He organized the New Jersey Sandy Hook Pilots Association. His grand mother, Lucy Monroe, is a direct descendant of President James Monroe.
C. & R. Poillon was a 19th century shipyard company in Brooklyn, New York. The company employed over 300 workers, owned several shipyards, and launched 175 vessels. The company was one of the best known clipper ship firms and the last of the wooden hulled boat builders in New York.
The Thomas S. Negus was a 19th-century two-masted Sandy Hook pilot boat, built by C. & R. Poillon shipyard in Brooklyn in 1873 for the New Jersey maritime pilots. She was built to replace the pilot boat Jane, No. 1, which sank in early 1873. She was the winner of a $1,000 prize at the Cape May Regatta in 1873. She was named for Thomas S. Negus, president of the N. J. Pilots' Commissioners. In 1897, she left the pilot service to prospect for gold during the Klondike Gold Rush.
The Washington was a 19th-century Sandy Hook pilot boat built in 1845 by C. & R. Poillon for New York Pilots. She was rebuilt several times, the last with the sail number "22" painted on her mainsail. In 1884, she was sunk by the German steamship Roma, and then replaced by a new Washington.
The Mary A. Williams was a 19th-century Sandy Hook pilot boat, built in 1861 by the shipbuilder Edward F. Williams in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, for a group of New York pilots. She was named Mary Ann Williams after the wife of the builder. The boat was considered one of the finest connected with the pilot service. She survived the Great Blizzard of 1888. In the age of steam, the Mary A. Williams was sold in 1896.
The New York was the first steam pilot boat in the New York harbor. She was built in 1897, by the Harlan and Hollingsworth company at Wilmington, Delaware for the a group of New York Sandy Hook pilots. She was designed by Archibald Cary Smith, who was a prominent naval architect and marine engineer. The New York was retired from pilot service in 1951.
The Centennial was a 19th-century wood pilot boat built in 1876 by Robert Crosbie and designed by Boston designer Dennison J. Lawlor for New York and New Jersey pilots. She was one of the pilot-boats that survived the Great Blizzard of 1888. By 1898, in the age of steam, she was the last pilot boat left in the fleet; then sold in 1898 to a group in Montego Bay, Jamaica.
The Edward E. Barrett, or Edward E. Bartlett, was a 19th-century two-masted Sandy Hook pilot boat, built by C. & R. Poillon in 1883 and designed by William Townsend. She helped transport New Jersey maritime pilots between inbound or outbound ships coming into the New York Harbor. She was one of the pilot boats that survived the Great Blizzard of 1888. In the age of steam, the Barrett ended her pilot commission and was sold in 1904.
The David Carll was a 19th-century pilot boat, built in 1885 at the David Carll shipyard in City Island, New York. She was named in honor of David Carll, a well-known City Island shipbuilder. The David Carll was considered to be among the fastest schooners in the fleet. She was built to replace the Mary E. Fish that was run down and sank by the schooner Frank Harrington in 1885. She was one of the pilot boats that survived the Great Blizzard of 1888. The David Carll was lost at sea in 1893.
The Actaea, or Actea, was a 19th-century Boston yacht built in 1880 by Weld and David Clark of Kennebunk, Maine for David Sears, Jr., of Montgomery Sears of Boston. She was purchased by a group of New York Sandy Hook Pilots in 1890. She was one of the largest and fastest pilot boats in the fleet. In the age of steam, the Actaea was sold in 1896 to John J. Phelps of the New York Yacht Club and used as a pleasure yacht.
The Hermann Oelrichs was a 19th-century Sandy Hook Pilot boat, built in 1894 by Moses Adams at Essex, Massachusetts for a group of New York Pilots. She helped transport New York City maritime pilots between inbound or outbound ships coming into the New York Harbor. The Herman Oelrichs was said to be the fastest of the New York pilot fleet. She was built to replace the pilot boat Hope, that was wrecked in 1890.
Edmund Blunt was a 19th-century New York pilot boat built in 1858 by Edward F. Williams for the New York Pilots. She helped transport New York City maritime pilots between inbound or outbound ships coming into the New York Harbor. She survived the Great Blizzard of 1888. In the age of steam, the Blunt along with other pilot boats, were replaced with steamboats. She was built to replace the Jacob L. Westervelt, which sank in 1857.
The Mary E. Fish was a 19th-century Sandy Hook pilot boat, built at the Edward F. Williams shipyard of Greenpoint, Brooklyn in 1861 for Richard Brown and the New York Pilots. She was built to replace the Mary Taylor. The Fish was hit and sank by the schooner Frank Harrington in 1885 and replaced by the David Carll.
The James Gordon Bennett was a 19th-century two-masted pilot boat, built in 1870 at the Lawrence & Foulks shipyard. She was named in honor of James Gordon Bennett, Jr., publisher of the New York Herald. She went ashore in 1893 and was rebuilt at the C. & R. Poillon shipyard. In 1897, the James Gordon Bennett was bought by Miller J. Morse of the Atlantic Yacht Club and made into a yacht. He changed her name to Hermit. The New Jersey pilots purchased her in 1901, to replace the David T. Leahy, that was run down by the steamship Alene. The Hermit sank in 1906, when the steamship Monterey ran into her.
The A. T. Stewart was a 19th-century Sandy Hook pilot boat built in 1865 at the Edward F. Williams shipyard to replace the pilot boat George Steers, which was lost in 1865. She was built for the New Jersey and New York Sandy Hook Pilots Association. The Stewart was in a collision with the steamship Scotia and sank in 1869. She was replaced by the James Gordon Bennett in 1870.
The Sandy Hook was a steam pilot boat built in 1902, by Lewis Nixon at the Crescent Shipyard in Elizabeth, New Jersey. In 1914, she was purchased by the New York and New Jersey Sandy Hook Pilots Association to replace the pilot boat New Jersey, that was lost in 1914. She could carry 10 to 12 pilots that would help guide ships through the New York Harbor. The Norwegian America Line Oslofjord, with the Crown Prince Olav of Norway and Princess Märtha of Sweden on board, ran into and sank the Sandy Hook in 1939.
The James W. Elwell was a 19th-century two-masted Sandy Hook pilot boat, built in 1867 by John A. Forsyth at Mystic Bridge, New London, Connecticut for New Jersey and Sandy Hook maritime pilots. She raced for a $1,000 prize at the Cape May Regatta in 1873. She went ashore and was shipwrecked on North Beach Haven, New Jersey in 1875.
Walter Brewer was a 19th-century American harbor pilot who guided large vessels into and out of New York Harbor as a Sandy Hook pilot. He was part owner of the pilot boats Virginia, William H. Aspinwall and the America, of the New York fleet.
Elbridge T. Gerry was a 19th-century New York Sandy Hook pilot boat built in 1888 at the Robinson & Waterhouse shipyard in City Island, Bronx. She was named in honor of Elbridge Thomas Gerry, a commodore of the New York Yacht Club. She served as a pilot boat from 1888 to 1896, when she was sold for offshore yachting cruises. Her name was changed to Kwasind, after the strongman in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's Song of Hiawatha.