 I'm Alone on the day it was sunk | |
| Name | I'm Alone |
| Port of registry |  Lunenburg, Nova Scotia |
| Yard number | 126 |
| Completed | 1923 |
| Fate | Sunk by the U.S. Coast Guard, 22 March 1929 |
| Type | Schooner |
| Tonnage | 205 tons |
| Propulsion | Sail and diesel engines |
| Speed | 9 knots (maximum) [1] |
| Crew | 8 |
I'm Alone was a Canadian ship used as a rum runner during Prohibition in the United States. She was best known for having been sunk by the United States Coast Guard while trying to flee.
The auxiliary schooner was built in Lunenburg Nova Scotia in 1923 (hull # 126), and for six years, she transported contraband alcohol. [2] Another source says the ship was built in the United Kingdom. [3] Her registry was in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. [4] I'm Alone was intercepted in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Louisiana by USCGC Wolcott on 22 March 1929, as the schooner was returning from Belize with liquor. The crew of I'm Alone disobeyed orders to stop and was shelled and sunk by USCGC Dexter. Seven of the ship's eight crew members were rescued. The eighth, a French Canadian boatswain, Leon Mainguy, died. [5] The surviving crew members, including captain John "Jack" Randell, were arrested and jailed in New Orleans. [3]
The sinking caused tensions in Canadian–American relations, with Envoy Vincent Massey criticizing the Americans' actions. The Canadian government sued for damages. Coast Guard intelligence personnel, led by Elizebeth Friedman, were able to demonstrate in international arbitration that the owners of I'm Alone were Americans, despite the ship's Canadian registry. As a result, the U.S. paid a fine much lower than the amount initially requested by Canada. [2] Captain Randell and Amanda Mainguy, the widow of the crew member who died, both received restitution. [3] The widow of dead sailor received $16,000 whilst Captain Randall received $7,000. The owners of the I'm Alone received no restitution. [6]
The incident was described in song by Canadian poet/folk musician Wade Hemsworth, "The Sinking of the I'm Alone".
Bluenose was a fishing and racing gaff rig schooner built in 1921 in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, Canada. A celebrated racing ship and fishing vessel, Bluenose under the command of Angus Walters, became a provincial icon for Nova Scotia and an important Canadian symbol in the 1930s, serving as a working vessel until she was wrecked in 1946. Nicknamed the "Queen of the North Atlantic", she was later commemorated by the Bluenose one-design sloop (1946) and a replica, Bluenose II (1963). The name Bluenose originated as a nickname for Nova Scotians from as early as the late 18th century.
Elizebeth Smith Friedman was an American cryptanalyst and author who deciphered enemy codes in both World Wars and helped to solve international smuggling cases during Prohibition. Over the course of her career, she worked for the United States Treasury, Coast Guard, Navy and Army, and the International Monetary Fund. She has been called "America's first female cryptanalyst".
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Rum-running, or bootlegging, is the illegal business of smuggling alcoholic beverages where such transportation is forbidden by law. Smuggling usually takes place to circumvent taxation or prohibition laws within a particular jurisdiction. The term rum-running is more commonly applied to smuggling over water; bootlegging is applied to smuggling over land.
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USCGC Cuyahoga (WIX-157) was an Active-class patrol boat built in 1927 which saw action in World War II. Cuyahoga sank after a night-time collision in the Chesapeake Bay while on patrol in 1978. She was later raised and re-sunk as an artificial reef off the Virginia coast and is a popular recreational dive site.
USCGC Tampa (ex-Miami) was a Miami-class cutter that initially served in the U.S. Revenue Cutter Service, followed by service in the U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Navy. Tampa was used extensively on the International Ice Patrol and also during the Gasparilla Carnival at Tampa, Florida and other regattas as a patrol vessel. It was sunk with the highest American naval combat casualty loss in World War I.
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The Active-class patrol boat was one of the most useful and long-lasting classes of United States Coast Guard cutters. Of the 35 built in the 1920s, 16 were still in service during the 1960s. The last to be decommissioned from active service was the Morris in 1970; the last in actual service was the Cuyahoga, which sank after an accidental collision in 1978.
Governor Parr was a four-masted schooner built in Parrsboro, Nova Scotia in 1918. Built by W.R. Huntley & Sons for Archie Davidson and Captain Angus D. Richards, she is claimed to be the "most handsome schooner built in Atlantic Canada" and was also the last schooner built in Parrsboro. She was named after early Governor of Nova Scotia John Parr.
Maid of England was a sailing barquentine built in Gross Coques, Digby County, Nova Scotia in 1919 by Omer Blinn. Maid of England was the last square-rigged cargo vessel built in Maritime provinces of Canada. Maid of England was owned by F.K. Warren for nine years, and then later abandoned at sea in 1928.
Liana's Ransom is a pirate-themed party vessel, operated from Nova Scotia.
USCGC Chelan was a Lake-class cutter belonging to the United States Coast Guard launched on 19 May 1928 and commissioned on 5 September 1928. After 13 years of service to the Coast Guard, she was transferred to the Royal Navy as part of the Lend-Lease Act, and named HMS Lulworth (Y60). During the war Lulworth served in a convoy Escort Group for Western Approaches Command
The FV Flora Alberta was a Canadian auxiliary fishing schooner based out of Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. She was launched in 1941 by Smith and Rhuland, the company's 187th vessel. The managing owner of the vessel was fishing company Adams & Knickle.
The City of New York was a steam barquentine best known for being Richard E. Byrd's flagship on his 1928–30 exploration of Antarctica, mistakenly for the rescue of Shackleton in 1915, and most infamously for possibly being the ship that failed to come to the aid of the Titanic in 1912. Her name was changed several times; originally named Samson (1885–1914), she was renamed the Jacobsen (1915–1919), and then the Belsund (1919–1926), and back to Samson (1926–1928), before being finally dubbed the City of New York in 1928.
USCGC McLane (WSC-146) is a 125 ft (38 m) United States Coast Guard Active-class patrol boat in commission from 1927 to 1971. She was named for Louis McLane, (1786–1857) who was appointed in 1833 as United States Secretary of State. In May 1966, she was redesignated as (WMEC-146).
USCGC Jackson was an Active-class cutter of the United States Coast Guard. She capsized in 1944, killing twenty one of forty crew members.
Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in 1929 | |
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