![]() Pilot boats Williams, Bateman, and Edmund Blunt, c. 1890. | |
History | |
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Name | Edmund Blunt |
Namesake | Edmund March Blunt, author, and publisher of nautical magazines |
Owner | New York pilots: Abraham Jones, Josiah Johnson, Jr., Frank Penay, Louis Samson [1] : p55 |
Operator |
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Builder | Edward F. Williams |
Launched | August 18, 1858 |
Out of service | February 1, 1896 |
Homeport | New York |
Fate | Sold |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Schooner |
Displacement | 56 tons TM |
Length | 84 ft 0 in (25.60 m) |
Beam | 20 ft 0 in (6.10 m) |
Draught | 8 ft 0 in (2.44 m) |
Propulsion | sails |
Sail plan | Schooner-rigged |
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 New York pilot-boat Edmund Blunt, No. 2, was launched on 18 August 1858, by Edward F. Williams from his Greenpoint, Brooklyn shipyard to replace the Jacob L. Westervelt, that was run down by the Bremen steamer Saxonia on 21 April 1857. [3] [4]
The Edmund Blunt, No. 2, was one of only twenty-one New York and New Jersey pilot boats listed in the year 1860. [5]
The Edmund Blunt was registered as a pilot schooner with the Record of American and Foreign Shipping, from 1876 to 1900. Her ship master was Captain Josiah Johnson, Jr.; her owners were the New York Pilots; built in 1861 at New York; and her hailing port was the Port of New York. Her dimensions were 84 ft. in length; 20 ft. breadth of beam; 8 ft. depth of hold; and 56-tons burthen (121-tons carpenter's measurement). [6] The boat number "2" was painted as a large number on her mainsail, that identified her as belonging to the Sandy Hook Pilots.
On October 9, 1873, the Edmund Blunt was one of the boats that participated in the Cap May Regatta, which was a race from Owl's Head Point around to Cape May Lighthouse in New Jersey, and back to the Sandy Hook Lightship. She was listed as No. 2 in the race. [7]
On April 8, 1883, the pilot-boat Edmund Blunt, found the brig Mary Gibbs, beaten by a hurricane and in bad shape. The Blunt towed the brig to the Highlands (of Navesink) and handed her over to the tugboat Indian, which brought her into the port of New York. [8] [5] : p268
In the Great Blizzard of 1888, the Edmund Blunt, No. 2, was one was one of 17 vessels out on pilot duty at the time of the storm. She went ashore on the Long Island coast. Pilot Abraham Jones was in command at the time of the storm. He took cover at a house near the Sandy Hook Lighthouse. Mrs. W. W. Stewart fed the men and allowed them to stay the night. The men from the pilot boats Edward F. Williams, Edward Cooper, W. W. Story and the Centennial joined them. [9] [5] : p203 [1]
In May 1890, pilot boats Mary A. Williams, William H. Bateman and Edmund Blunt raced and competed for honors to reach several ocean liners coming into port off Sandy Hook. The North German Lloyd steamship, Rhein, was in reach and the pilot boats raced to her side. The Bateman won the race by less than a dozen yards. [1] : p66
On February 1, 1896, the New York Pilots discarded sixteen sailboats and moved them to the Erie Basin in Brooklyn. They were replaced with steam pilot boats. The Edmund Blunt, was sold for $2,000. [10] The Blunt went on to do ferry duty between the islands of the West Indies. [1] : p54
William H. Starbuck was a 19th-century New York pilot boat built to take the place of the Mary and Catherine, that sank in 1885. She was launched from the J. S. Ellis & Son shipyard, at Tottenville, Staten Island in 1886. The Starbuck was one of the few pilot-boats to take the offensive in the Great Blizzard of 1888, when she ran into the steamship Japanese and survived one of the most severe recorded blizzards in American history. She was one of the last pilot boats that were sold in an age of steam and electricity.
The Joseph F. Loubat was a 19th-century Sandy Hook pilot boat built in 1880 at the Jacob S. Ellis shipyard in Tottenville, Staten Island. She was the largest of the pilot-boats in the Sandy Hook service. In 1896 she was one of the last pilot-boats that were sold in an age of steam and electricity.
The James Stafford was a 19th-century Sandy Hook pilot boat built in 1888 for the New York Pilots. She took the place of the pilot boat Enchantress, that was lost in the Great Blizzard of 1888. She was named after James Stafford, one of the oldest and prominent shipping men of Brooklyn. She sank near Sandy Hook in 1898 when she ran into the Dry Romer shoal. At that time, the Stafford was one of the oldest pilot-boats still in service in a time when they were being replaced with steam pilot boats.
The Fannie was a 19th-century Sandy Hook pilot boat built in 1860 by Edward F. Williams at his shipyard in Greenpoint, Brooklyn for New York City pilots. She was in the pilot service during the American Civil War. In an age of steam, she was sold in 1896.
The America, No. 21 was a 19th-century pilot boat built in 1880 for the New York City and Sandy Hook Pilots. She was a replacement for the William H. Aspinwall, No. 21, that was lost off Point Judith, Rhode Island in 1880. She weathered the Great Blizzard of 1888. In the time of steam, the America was sold in 1896 by the New York Pilots. A new pilot-boat America was built in 1897 for Captain James H. Reid of Boston and designed from the line drawings by Thomas F. McManus of Boston. After serving 21 years in the Boston Pilots' Association, the America was sold to David W. Simpson of Boston in 1918.
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.
Jacob A. Westervelt was a 19th-century Sandy Hook pilot boat designed by naval architect John W. Griffiths and built by Jacob A. Westervelt in 1853. She was one of the fastest pilot-boats in the fleet. In 1858, while attempting to board the British steamer Saxonia she was fatally run into and sank outside of Sandy Hook. The Edmund Blunt, was built to replace her.
The Charles H. Marshall, was a 19th-century Sandy Hook pilot boat built by Henry Steers in 1860 for a group of New York pilots. She was in the Great Blizzard of 1888, the same year the National Geographic came out with an article about the successful struggle made by the crew of the Marshall. The boat was named in honor of the American businessman Charles Henry Marshall. In the age of steam she was sold in 1896.
The Edward F. Williams, was a 19th-century Sandy Hook pilot boat, built in 1863 at the Edward F. Williams shipyard in Greenpoint, Brooklyn for a group of New York Pilots. She survived the Great Blizzard of 1888. In the age of steam, the Williams was sold in 1896.
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 Ezra Nye was a 19th-century pilot boat, built in 1859 by the Wells & Webb shipyard in Greenpoint, Brooklyn for a group of New Jersey and Sandy Hook Pilots. She was one of the pilot-boats that was in the Great Blizzard of 1888, that was one of the most severe blizzards in American history. In 1896, in the age of steam, the Ezra Nye along with other pilot boats, were replaced with steamboats.
The Jesse Carll,, was a 19th-century pilot boat, built in 1885 by Jesse Carll at Northport, New York, for George H. Sisco. She was one of the largest vessels ever built in the Sandy Hook service. She was named in honor of Jesse Carll, a well-known Northport shipbuilder. In 1896, in the age of steam, the Ezra Nye along with other pilot boats, were replaced with steamboats.
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 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 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 Edmund Driggs, was a 19th-century Sandy Hook pilot boat built in 1864 at the Edward F. Williams shipyard in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. She was built to replace the pilot boat Elwood Walter. The schooner was used to pilot vessels to and from the Port of New York. She survived the Great Blizzard of 1888. In the age of steam, she was sold in 1896.
The William H. Bateman, a.k.a. Commodore Bateman, was a 19th-century Sandy Hook pilot boat built in 1888 at the C. & R. Poillon shipyard in south Brooklyn. She was replaced the pilot-boat Phantom that was lost in the Great Blizzard of 1888. She was run down and sank by the Hamburg steamship Suevia in 1889.
The Enchantress was a 19th-century Sandy Hook pilot boat built in 1851 by John Maginn who named her after one of the cast in the opera The Enchantress. She was launched from the Westervelt & McKay shipyard. The Enchantress was one of the oldest pilot-boats in the service. She was Cornelius Vanderbilt's favorite pilot boat. The Enchantress went down with all hands in the Great Blizzard of 1888. The pilot boat James Stafford was built to replace her.
Josiah Johnson, Jr., was a 19th-century American New York Sandy Hook maritime pilot. He was best known for being in the New York Sandy Hook piloting service for over 47 years. He piloted over 5,000 vessels in and out of the New York Harbor without an accident. Johnson was captain and owner of the pilot boat Edmund Blunt.
W. W. Story was a 19th-century New Jersey pilot boat built in 1874 at the Samuel H. Pine shipyard in Greenpoint, New York. She sank off Sandy Hook horsehoe during the Blizzard of 1888. She was raised and turned into a fishing smack. On November 13, 1896, she was reported missing along with her crew after being last seen along Absecon, New Jersey when she was caught up in a hurricane.