The Friend was a 19th-century pilot boat built by Daniel D. Kelley & Holmes East Boston shipyard in 1848 for Boston pilots. She helped transport Bostonmaritime pilots between inbound or outbound ships coming into the Boston Harbor. The Friend was one of the last of the low sided, straight sheared schooners built in the 1840s for Boston pilots. The second Boston pilot boat Friend was built in 1887. Her name came from the older Friend that was in the service in the late 1840s. Captain Thomas Cooper sold the Friend to New York pilots in 1893. Cooper replaced the Friend with the pilot-boat Columbia in 1894.
Boston pilot-boat Friend was built in January 1847 by Daniel D. Kelley of the Daniel D. Kelley & Holmes East Bostonshipyard.[1] She was launched on May 5, 1847. Her dimensions were 60.9ft. in length; 17.9ft. breadth of beam; 7.4ft. depth of hold; and 68-tons Tonnage. The Friend was one of the last of the low sided, straight sheared schooners built in the 1840s for Boston pilots.[2]
Captain John Sherman was on the Friend from 1847-1866.[3] Captain William Abbott was a boat keeper on the Friend in 1858. The Friend was low sided, which made it easier to launch a yawl without hoisting it.[2]
Franklin B. Wellock was a Boston pilot for more than 55 years. In 1855, he began his career as a pilot on the pilot-boat Friend.[4]
James Lawrence Fowler was one of the owners of the Friend. She was sometimes hired for a pleasure cruises. She was used by Daniel Webster and his associates for outings down the Boston Harbor, where Webster made them fish chowder.[5]
One of the pilots who served on the Friend was Captain James M. Dolliver. On February 2, 1859, Dolliver and Patrick Henry Chandler launched a yawl from the Friend to rescue the captain of the British schooner Caroline that went ashore on the rocks near the Boston Light in heavy weather approaching Boston. They received a silver medal from the Massachusetts Humane Society for their brave efforts.[6][5][7]
Artist Alfred Waud did a marine pencil drawing of the Boston Pilot Boat Fleet in 1859, which appeared in the Ballou's Pictorial of 1859. The story in the Ballou's Pictorial said:
These boats are all well-built, of exquisite model and crack sailors, and manned by as fine a set of men as ever trod a deck or handled a sheet. They ride the waves like sea-ducks, and with their hardy crews are constantly exposed to the roughest weather.
The drawing lists the schooner-rigged boats with their number on the mainsail. They included the Phantom, No. 5; Syren, No. 1; William Starkey, No 6; the Coquette and the Friend, No. 7.[9]
On March 31, 1860, one of her pilots boarded the barkSt. Jago, off Cape Cod coming from Matanzas for Portland.[10]
On January 15, 1861, Captain James M. Dolliver was on the Friend when he met up with the ship Flying Dragon, which was going from New Orleans to Boston. As Dolliver was hailing the ship, the foresail struck him throwing him into the water. He was rescued by a yawl that was lowered from the pilot boat.[6]
The pilot boat Friend from Boston was reported as lost on the beach of Santa Rosa, Florida on November 20, 1868.[11]
New pilot boat Friend
Captain Thomas Cooper.
The new pilot boat Friend was built at the Dennison J. Lawlor's shipyard on Condor street in East Boston in early 1887 for Captain William R. Lampee and Captain Thomas Cooper. She was designed by Ambrose Martin and built at a cost of $8,000. Her name comes from the older pilot boat that was in the service in the late 1840s. The Friend, No. 7, was launched on November 15, 1887. After the launch, she was taken to Fisk wharf to be fitted with masts and rigging.[12][13] Her dimensions were 67ft. length on deck; and 48.84-tons Tonnage.[14]
The trial trip of the new pilot boat Friend, No. 7, was on January 12, 1888. Captain William R. Lampee was in command during the trip. There were a dozen friends aboard the boat during the trip down as far as the middle ground.[15]
In May 1888, the pilot boat Friend, began her pilot service at the port of Provincetown, Massachusetts. At Provincetown, she boarded the bark Benjamin Dickerman, 12 miles from the Highland Light, headed for Portland.[16]
After Captain Lampee died in 1892 and Cooper sold the Eben D. Jordan, Cooper became the new Captain of the Friend and used her on cruises from 1892 through 1893.[14]:pp49-50
On May 15, 1893, pilot-boat Friend, with pilot Joe Fossett, picked up the two-masted schooner Modesty of Bangor, Maine, that was full of water. They were able to bring the vessel into East Boston with the help of the tugboat Piscataqua.[17]
Sold to New Jersey pilots
On October 21, 1893, Captain Thomas Cooper sold the Friend, No. 7, to the New York Pilots. Cooper wanted a more up-to-date vessel to challenge the Hesper, Varuna, and other boats in the Boston fleet.[18] In 1894, Cooper replaced the Friend, with the pilot-boat Columbia built by Ambrose D. Martin at East Boston for Thomas Cooper.[19]:p159
As a New York pilot boat, the Friend's boat number changed to No. 4. On June 5, 1894, Pilot Robert Sylvester, of the pilot-boat Friend, No. 4, was out on a cruise when he sighted George Gould's steam yacht Atlanta.[20][21]
In November 16, 1895, Captain John Ashcraft of the pilot boat Friend, was reported looking for a steamboat for the now consolidated pilots' association of New York and New Jersey pilots, which was merged on December 1, 1894.[22]
End of service
On November 15, 1896, the pilot-boat Friend ended her service as a pilot boat and was altered to be a pleasure boat.[23]
USS Liberty III (SP-1229), sometimes written Liberty # 3, and also referred to during her naval career as Liberty and as Pilot Boat Liberty, No. 3, was a United States Navy patrol vessel in commission from 1917 to 1919. The Liberty was a pilot boat from 1896-1917. She was a replacement for the pilot boat D. J. Lawlor. After World War I, the Liberty returned to pilot service until 1934 when she was purchased as a yacht.
USS Louise No. 2 (SP-1230), sometimes written Louise # 2 and also referred to during her naval career as Louise and as Pilot Boat No. 2, was a United States Navy patrol vessel in commission from 1917 to 1919. The Louise, was a pilot boat from 1900 to 1917. She was a replacement for the pilot boat Columbia, that was washed ashore in 1898. After the World War I the Louise returned to pilot service until 1924 when she was purchased as a yacht. In 1924, the Boston pilot boat Pilot, took the place of the Louise.
The Columbia was a 19th-century pilot boat built C. & R. Poillon shipyard in 1879 for Sandy Hook and New York pilots that owned the Isaac Webb, which was lost off Quonochontaug Beach, Long Island in July 1879. She was run down by the Guion Line steamer SS Alaska in 1883. A second pilot-boat, also named Columbia, was built by Ambrose A. Martin at East Boston in 1894 that had a unique spoon bow and was extremely fast. She was thrown ashore in the great Portland Gale, and remained on the Sand Hills beach in Scituate, Massachusetts for over thirty years as a marine curiosity. The Louise No. 2 replaced the ill-fated Columbia.
The Richard K. Fox, first named Lillie, was a 19th-century pilot boat built in 1876 for Boston Pilots. She was designed by model by Dennison J. Lawlor. She was one of the most graceful and attractive of the Boston pilot-boats and represented a trend toward deep-bodied boats. She was later sold to the New York pilots and renamed Richard K. Fox in honor of the famous sportsman and publisher of the Police Gazette. In the age of steam, she was sold in 1896 to the Marine Hospital Service.
The Phantom was a 19th-century Sandy Hook pilot boat built in 1867 from the designs by Dennison J. Lawlor. The schooner was considered a model for her type with a reputation for being very fast. She helped rescue the passengers on the steamship SS Oregon when it sank in 1886. She was one of the pilot-boats that was lost in the Great Blizzard of 1888. The Phantom was replaced by the pilot-boat William H. Bateman.
Thomas Francis McManus was a fish merchant who became a naval architect, responsible for introducing the shortened bowsprit and long stern overhang to give speed to his vessels. He was well known for revolutionizing the Gloucester fishing schooner. He made the fastest vessels of their type in the world and was honored on two continents for his skill as a naval architect. He became known as the "Father of the Fishermen's Races." 500 fishing schooners used his designs to improve speed. He was a friend of Sir Thomas Lipton and President Theodore Roosevelt.
Minerva was a 19th-century Boston pilot boat built in 1896 by Ambrose A. Martin of East Boston, Massachusetts. She was owned by Franklin B. Wellock who was a Boston pilot for more than 55 years. The pilot-boat was named for his daughter, Minerva Hill. She was sold to Plymouth parties in 1901 to be used as a fishing vessel.
The Eben D. Jordan was a 19th-century Boston pilot boat built in 1883 by Ambrose A. Martin in East Boston for Captain Thomas Cooper. Her namesake was Eben Dyer Jordan, the founder of the Jordan Marsh department stores. In 1892, she was sold to the New York Sandy Hook pilots. She was one of the last of the pilot-boats that were discarded in an age of steam and electricity in 1896.
The Varuna was a 19th-century Boston pilot boat, built by Montgomery & Howard at Chelsea, Massachusetts in 1890, for a group of Boston pilots. She was designed by yacht designer Edward Burgess, known for his America's Cup defenders. She was the first centerboard pilot-boat in operation in the Massachusetts Bay. The Varuna went out of service in 1912 because of the introduction of steam power into pilot-boats. She was later sold to Stephen Simmons to be used as a trading vessel between ports in the Spanish Main in 1913.
The Daniel Webster was a 19th-century pilot boat, built in 1851 at Chelsea, Massachusetts. She was sold to the San Francisco Pilots' Opposition Line in October 1853. In 1864 she sailed for Shanghai, China to be in the pilot service. She operated in Shanghai until 1892 when she was lost in a storm.
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.
Captain Bruce Boutlier McLean was a 19th-century Boston maritime pilot, best known for being a pilot on the pilot boat America. He was a leader among the branch pilots of Boston for 35 years. McLean was a pilot and owner of the pilot boat Liberty. He died in Everett, Massachusetts, in 1930.
The Fleur de Lis was a 19th-century yacht and pilot boat built in 1865 by J. B. Van Deusen for Captain John S. Dickerson of the New York Yacht Club. She was bought by pilot Franklin B. Wellock and became the Boston pilot boat No. 7. She was known as one of the best pilot boats in the Boston harbor. By 1904, the pilot boat Fleur de Lis was lying in a graveyard for old boats in East Boston.
The Coquette was a 19th-century yacht and pilot boat, built in 1845 by Louis Winde, at the Winde & Clinkard shipyard in Chelsea, Massachusetts for yachtsmen James A. Perkins. Her design was based on a model by shipbuilder Dennison J. Lawlor. The Coquette was a good example of an early American yacht with a clipper bow. As a yacht, she won the attention for outsailing the larger New York yacht Maria at the second New York Yacht Club regatta in 1846. Perkins sold the Coquette to the Boston Pilots' Association for pilot service in 1848. She continued as a pilot boat until 1867 when she was sold as a Blackbirder to be used on the African coast.
John Crossland Fawcett was a 19th-century American Boston harbor pilot. He is best known for being a member of the Boston Pilots' Association for 19 years. He was an owner and pilot on the pilot boats Columbia and Louise. He died by suicide in his cabin on the pilot boat Louise in 1908 off Half Way Rock.
Moses Adams, was a 19th-century prominent Essex shipbuilder. He had his own shipyard and built eighty-five schooners and pilot boats. Adams died in Essex, Massachusetts in 1894.
Ambrose A. Martin, was a 19th-century Boston, Massachusetts yacht and boat shipbuilder. He built the Ambrose A. Martin shipyard in 1882 at Jeffries Point, East Boston, where he built many notable Boston yachts and schooners. Martin died in Boston in 1934.
Gracie was a 19th-century Boston pilot boat built in 1869 at the Edward A. Costigan shipyard in Charlestown, Massachusetts. The schooner was used by Boston pilots and was sold to North Carolina pilots in 1881.
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.
The William Starkey was a 19th-century pilot boat built in 1854, by Benjamin F. Delano at the Thatcher Magoun shipyard for W. W. Goddard, of Boston. Starkey helped transport Boston maritime pilots between inbound or outbound ships coming into the Boston Harbor. She was named for Captain William Starkey, one of the founders of the Boston Marine Society. The Virginia Pilots' Association purchased the Boston schooner William Starkey in 1865, where she became a pioneer of the associations' fleet and the oldest pilot boat on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. In the age steam, she was sold in 1899 to Thomas Darling of Hampton, Virginia.
↑ "Yachts and Yachtsmen". The Boston Globe. Boston, Massachusetts. 15 Nov 1896. p.29. Retrieved 2020-10-18.
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