Hermann Oelrichs (pilot boat)

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Hermann Orhichs.jpg
Pilot Boat Hermann Oelrichs, No. 1.
History
Naval jack of the United States (1865-1867).svg United States
NameHermann Oelrichs
Namesake Hermann Oelrichs, American shipping businessman
OwnerN. Y. Pilots
Operator
  • Pilot Speitzer
  • Michael Lyons
Builder Moses Adams shipyard at Essex, Massachusetts
LaunchedMay 12, 1894
Out of serviceJuly 15, 1904
FateSold
General characteristics
Class and type Schooner
Displacement73 tons
Length87 ft 0 in (26.52 m)
Beam22 ft 0 in (6.71 m)
Draught9 ft 4 in (2.84 m)
Propulsion schooner sail
Sail plan
  • 74 ft 0 in (22.56 m) mast length
  • 72 ft 0 in (21.95 m) mast length

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.

Contents

Construction and service

The New York pilot-boat Hermann Oelrichs, No. 1, was built by the Moses Adams shipyard in early 1894 at Essex, Massachusetts, for a group of New York pilots, to replace the pilot boat Hope, that was wrecked in 1890 along the shore of the Sandy Hook Point. [1] [2] The boat number "1" was painted as a large number on her mainsail, that identified her as belonging to the Sandy Hook Pilots.

On April 21, 1894, the New York pilot boat Herman Oelrichs, was towed to Gloucester, Massachusetts for rigging. [3] She left Gloucester on her maiden cruise, on May 12, 1894, to reach the Port of New York on May 25, 1894. She had on board four pilots. She was the fastest of the New York pilot fleet. Her dimensions were 87 ft. length on deck; her masts were 74 ft. and 72 ft. high; and 73-tons burthen. She beat the Boston pilot boat, Hesper, No. 5, on a race leaving Gloucester. [4]

On June 4, 1894, Pilot Speitzer of the new pilot boat Herman Oelrichs, No. 1, brought in the British seamer Furnesia, and reported having seen the yacht Vigilant. [5] On February 21, 1895, Captain Michael Lyons, of the pilot boat Herman Oelrichs, No. 1, boarded the steamship Lucania. [6]

By June 21, 1896, In the age of steam, twenty-four pilot boats had been withdrawn from service leaving five pilot boats kept for emergency service. The five boats that were retained were the Herman Oelrichs, Ambrose Snow , Caldwell H. Colt, Edward F. Williams, and the Alexander M. Lawrence . [7] :p84

On June 6, 1897, pilot Nichols Roach, of the Sandy Hook pilot boat Hermann Oelrichs, No. 1, reported that a carrier pigeon flew on board with a tag attached on its leg with the message: "H. V. M., No. 3." [8]

On June 13, 1899, the Herman Oelrichs rescued the crew of the German steamship Macedonia, which was hit and sank by the steamship Hamilton, off Sea Bright, New Jersey. [7]

By April 7, 1901, the pilot boat Herman Oelrichs, was anchored off Stapleton, Staten Island, when five of her men were in a yawl that filled with water. One pilot, John Syceth was drowned. [9]

End of service

On July 15, 1904, the Hermann Oelrichs, was put up for sale at the Pilot Office in New York City. [10]

On Jun 7, 1910, Herman Oelrichs, owned by Captain Fred B. Rice, and others was sold to Captain A. F. Warren, of Pensacola, Florida. She was added to the fleet of fishing schooners owned by the Warren Fishing Company in Florida. [11]

See also

Related Research Articles

USS <i>Hope</i> (1861) Yacht used as a US dispatch boat and pilot boat

USS Hope was a 19th-century wooden yacht schooner, designed and built in 1861 by Henry Steers for Captain Thomas B. Ives of Providence, Rhode Island. She was acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. She was placed into service as a gunboat assigned to support the fleet blockading the ports of the Confederate States of America. However, at times, Hope was assigned extra tasks, such as that of a dispatch boat, supply runner and salvage ship. She was a pilot boat from 1866 to 1891 and in 1891 she was replaced by the Herman Oelrichs, when the Hope was wrecked ashore the Sandy Hook Point.

Pet, No. 9

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">C. & R. Poillon</span> American shipping company

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<i>Columbia</i> (pilot boat) Sandy Hook Pilot boat

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<i>Richard K. Fox</i> (pilot boat) Sandy Hook Pilot boat

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<i>Phantom</i> (pilot boat) Sandy Hook Pilot boat

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<i>Francis Perkins</i> (pilot boat) New York Pilot boat

The Francis Perkins, No. 13 was a 19th-century Sandy Hook pilot boat, built by Henry Steers in 1866 for a group of New York Pilots. She was considered one of the finest boats ever built. During a snow storm in 1887, the Perkins struck the steamship Aries and sank near the Barnegat shoals.

Mary A. Williams New York Pilot boat

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.

<i>Trenton</i> (pilot boat) New Jersey Pilot boat

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<i>Centennial</i> (pilot boat) New Jersey Pilot boat

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Edward E. Barrett Sandy Hook Pilot boat

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<i>Caprice</i> (pilot boat) Sandy Hook pilot boat built in 1871

The Caprice was a 19th-century Sandy Hook pilot boat built in 1871 by Brown & Lovell in East Boston, Massachusetts for Peter McEnany and other New York pilots. In 1876, she was run down and sank, off Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, by the steamship New Orleans. She was raised and was one of the pilot boats that survived the Great Blizzard of 1888. The Caprice was last reported sailing off the coast of New York in 1891.

<i>Actaea</i> (pilot boat) New York Pilot boat

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.

<i>Friend</i> (pilot boat) Sandy Hook Pilot boat

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Mary E. Fish Boston Pilot boat

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Charlotte Webb New York Pilot boat

Charlotte Webb was a 19th-century New York City pilot boat built in 1865 at the Webb & Bell shipyard to take the place of the James Funk, that was destroyed by the rebel Tallahassee during the Civil War. She survived the Great Blizzard of 1888, but was run down by the French steamship La Normandie in 1889. She was replaced by the pilot boat George H. Warren.

<i>George H. Warren</i> (pilot boat) Boston Pilot boat

The George H. Warren was a 19th-century pilot boat built in 1882 by Porter Keene at Weymouth, Massachusetts, to replace the Edwin Forrest, No. 4, which was sold to the Pensacola, Florida pilots. The George H. Warren, originally belonged to the Boston pilot fleet but in 1889, she was purchase by a group of New York pilots. She and her crew were lost in the great blizzard of 1895.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moses Adams</span> Early American shipbuilder

Moses Adams, was an Essex County shipbuilder. He had his own shipyard and built eighty-five schooners and pilot boats. Adams died in Essex, Massachusetts in 1894.

<i>Elbridge T. Gerry</i> (pilot boat) New York Pilot boat

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.

References

  1. "Cape Ann Shipbuilding. Vessels built at Essex and Gloucester in the First Half of the Year-Some Stanch Craft". The Boston Globe. Boston, Massachusetts. 2 Jul 1894. p. 4. Retrieved 2021-03-01.
  2. Cunliffe, Tom (2001). Pilots, The World Of Pilotage Under Sail and Oar. Brooklin, Maine: WoodenBoat. p. 73. ISBN   9780937822692.
  3. "Gloucester Fish Market. Ruling Prices on Fresh Fish-Arrivals at That Port Today". The Boston Globe. Boston, Massachusetts. 21 Apr 1894. p. 2. Retrieved 2021-03-01.
  4. "Fastest Of The Fleet. New Pilot Boat, Herman Oelrichs, Proves to be a Flyer". The Boston Globe. Boston, Massachusetts. 25 May 1894. p. 2. Retrieved 2021-03-01.
  5. "News From the Vigilant". Austin American-Statesman. Austin, Texas. 4 Jun 1894. p. 1. Retrieved 2021-03-01.
  6. "Missing Ships and Pilots". The New York Times. New York, New York. 21 Feb 1895. p. 15. Retrieved 2021-03-01.
  7. 1 2 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. 61.
  8. "Caught A Carrier Pigeon". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Brooklyn, New York. 6 Jun 1897. p. 7. Retrieved 2021-03-01.
  9. "Pilot Boat Man Drowned". The Boston Globe. Boston, Massachusetts. 7 Apr 1901. p. 1. Retrieved 2021-03-01.
  10. "For Sale-Boat". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Brooklyn, New York. 15 Jul 1904. p. 12. Retrieved 2021-03-01.
  11. "Pilot Boat Oelrich Sold". The Wilmington Morning Star. Wilmington, North Carolina. 7 Jun 1910. p. 5. Retrieved 2021-02-15.