Fannie (pilot boat)

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Pilot Schooner Fannie.jpg
New York Pilot Boat Fannie, No. 17 in the collection at The Mariners' Museum.
History
US flag 33 stars.svgUnited States
NameFannie
OwnerN. Y. Pilots: Edward Mersenee
OperatorC. H. Wolsey, William L. Wilson [1]
Builder Edward F. Williams
Cost$4,000
Launched1860
Out of service1896
FateSold
General characteristics
Class and type schooner
Tonnage51-tons TM [2]
Length76 ft 1 in (23.19 m)
Beam19 ft 0 in (5.79 m)
Draft9 ft 0 in (2.74 m)
Depth8 ft 1 in (2.46 m)
PropulsionSail

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.

Contents

Construction and service

New York Pilot Schooner Fannie, No. 17, painting by Conrad Freitag. Fannie pilot boat.jpg
New York Pilot Schooner Fannie, No. 17, painting by Conrad Freitag.

The pilot-boat Fannie, was built in 1860 and launched on July 12, 1860 at the Edward F. Williams shipyard, in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, for the New York and Sandy Hook Pilots. She was owned by Captain Edward Mersenee of New York. [3]

When Captain Edward Mersenee died in January 1864, the pilot boats in the port of New York flew their flags at half-mast, as a token of respect to the late captain. [4]

On August 11, 1864, during the American Civil War, the pilots on the Fannie, No. 17 reported that they saw a vessel burning off Montauk, New York. The pilots believed that the CSS Tallahassee was working her way toward the Nantucket Shoals in the Atlantic Ocean. [5]

The Fannie was registered with the Record of American and Foreign Shipping from 1877 to 1885 to Captain C. H. Wolsey as Master and to the New York Pilots as owners. She belonged to the port of New York. [2] John Hobbs was captain and half owner of the pilot-boat Fannie, No. 17. [6] She was one of only twenty-one New York pilot-boats in 1860. [7] : p159 

On October 13, 1869, the pilot-boat Fannie, No. 17, was out at sea and reported a sunken brig laying south of the Highlands, New Jersey. Captain Wolsey was in command and reported that the brig is in the path of inward and outward bound vessels. [8]

On March 27, 1872, pilot-boat Fannie, No. 17 came across the schooner Franklin, which had been in bad weather for twenty four days, coming from Boston. Captain Wolsey of the Fannie was able to tow her safely into the New York harbor. [7] : p276  [9]

On November 25, 1881, the pilot-boat Fannie, No. 17, picked up the Barque Aberdeen, out at sea and had the tugboat Walcott tow her to Staten Island. The tugboat got $250 for efforts and the pilots got $4,000. [10]

On July 26, 1893, the pilot-boat Fannie, ran into the side of the fruit steamship Banan, causing the pilot-boat's main rigging to be torn and twisted. The Fannie asked for $100 in damages. [11]

On April 13, 1894, Pilot Henry A. DeVere was lost while boarding the Norwegian steamer Banan from the pilot-boat Fannie, No. 17, while off Cape May. The weather was bad with gales and high seas, which capsized a yawl with DeVere and two other men. DeVere had been a pilot for ten years. His father had been a pilot for thirty years. [12] [13]

End of service

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 Fannie, was sold for $4,000. [14]

See also

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References

  1. ↑ "Up In The Pilot House. Veterans Who Pass a Life of Hairbreadth Scapes". The Des Moines Register. Des Moines, Iowa. 12 Sep 1886. p. 6. Retrieved 2021-04-21.
  2. 1 2 "Record of American and Foreign Shipping 1877". Mystic Seaport Museum. New York. Retrieved 2020-10-11.
  3. ↑ "Launch Of A Pilot Boat". Brooklyn Evening Star. Brooklyn, New York. 12 Jul 1860. p. 3. Retrieved 7 Feb 2021.
  4. ↑ "Launch of the Pilot Boat Wm. Bell". New York Daily Herald. New York, New York. 11 Jan 1864. p. 5. Retrieved 7 Feb 2021.
  5. ↑ "The Tallahassee A Brig and a Schooner Burned off Montauk". Detroit Free Press. Detroit, Michigan. 17 Aug 1864. p. 3. Retrieved 2020-10-11.
  6. ↑ "Pilot Hobbs' Funeral". The Daily Standard Union. Brooklyn, New York. 1896-09-21. p. 3. Retrieved 11 October 2020– via Old Fulton NY Postcards Lock-green.svg .
  7. 1 2 Russell, Charles Edward (1929). From Sandy Hook to 62°. New York: Century Co. OCLC   3804485.
  8. ↑ "Sunken Brig Discoverd" . Fall River Daily Evening News. Fall River, Massachusetts. 14 Oct 1869. p. 2. Retrieved 11 October 2020– via Newspapers.com.
  9. ↑ "Twenty-Four Days' Buffeting on the Billows, The Coasting Schooner Franklin, of Wiscasset, Maine, Driven to Sea, Severe Gales, The Vessel and Cargo Saved, but the Captain Badly Frozen, Towed Into Port by Pilot Boat Fanny". The New York Herald. New York, N.Y. 30 March 1872. Retrieved 11 October 2020– via Library of Congress Lock-green.svg .
  10. ↑ "A Slice of Luck" . Passaic Daily News. Passaic, New Jersey. 25 Nov 1881. p. 3. Retrieved 11 October 2020– via Newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ "Ran Into A Pilot-Boat. The Steamship Banan Seriously Injures the Fannie, of New York" . The World. New York, New York. p. 8. Retrieved 11 October 2020– via Newspapers.com.
  12. ↑ Allen, Edward L. (1922). Pilot Lore From sail to Steam. New York: The United New York and New Jersey Sandy Hook Pilots Benevolent Associations. p. 18.
  13. ↑ "Waves Wrested Life Away. Pilot De Vere Died After Being Picked Up at Sea. Capsized While Trying to Board the Steamer Banan". The New York Herald. New York, N.Y. 30 March 1872. Retrieved 11 October 2020– via Library of Congress Lock-green.svg .
  14. ↑ "Not Up To Date. Why New York Pilots Are Discarding Sailboats". The Standard Union. Brooklyn, New York. 1896-02-01. p. 7. Retrieved 2020-09-08.
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