The Nettle was a 19th-century Sandy Hookpilot boat built in 1844 by S. Hall of East Boston, Massachusetts for the New York Pilots. She helped transport maritime pilots between inbound or outbound ships coming into the New York Harbor. In 1868, she found the wreck of the barkHenry Trowbridge, and towed her to Sandy Hook. The Nettle, sank in 1876 in the Pensacola Bay. The sunken wreck was removed in 1878 to improve the Pensacola harbor.
Pilot boat Nettle, No. 20, was built in 1844, by S. Hall of East Boston, Massachusetts. She was copper fastened and built with white oak and hackmetak. She had a 27-ton iron ballast. The Boston Merchant's Exchange put her up for sale in the summer of 1845. The ad said she was one year old and the price was $1,000.[1]
On September 25, 1845, George W. Blunt bout the Nettle, as he signed a letter to the editor of the Washington Union, to insert a message in the paper, which said he was the true and only owner of the Nettle, of New York, built at Boston, Massachusetts in the year 1844, per enrollment in the port of Boston. On July 19, 1844, he became the owner of the Nettle, and that James Calahan was the master or commander.[2]
By 1847, the Nettle No. 2, was helping to rescue the shipwrecks outside the New York harbor. On August 6, 1947, off Montauk, New York, she helped rescue the passengers from the sinking schooner Sarah Strong. The next day the Nettle helped in the transfer the passengers from the Brig Ann Maria and take them into port.[3]
In 1856, the Nettle was reported as boat No. 20. On January 22, 1856, she was on a cruise and came across the brig Eurania off Sandy Hook with her Topgallant sail gone. The Nettle towed her inside of Sandy Hook.[4]
In 1860, the Nettle was one of only twenty-one pilot boats in the New York and New Jersey fleet. The boat number "20" was painted as a large number on her mainsail, that identified the boat as belonging to the Sandy Hook Pilots.[5]
On April 23, 1860, the pilot boat Nettle, No. 20, came across the wreck of the BarkBelle. The following report was recorded in the ship's Logbook: "Sunday 15th, at three P.M. fell in with the wreck of bark Belle of Boston, dismasted and waterlogged; attempted to tow her, but wind being light made no impression upon her; lay by her all night... At noon nothing of her was above water but the stern and rudder. She lays lame literally in the track of vessels bound to and from the eastward, being 70 miles from Sandy Hook in 20 fathoms of water" [6]
On March 29, 1864, the pilot boat Nettle, came up to the Portland, Maine port and saw a vessel with two bright lights ten miles from Cape Elizabeth Lights. She then saw a fire at Saco, Maine, on the mainland.[7]
Wreck of the bark Henry Trowbridge, and the pilot boat Nettle.
On August 6, 1868, Captain Joseph Lockman of the pilot boat Nettle, found the wreck of the bark Henry Trowbridge, forty miles from Sandy Hook. Lockman of the Nettle, took her in tow to Sandy Hook. The hold of the vessel contained the bodies of three seamen found in the forecastle.[8] The Nettle received $3,300 salvage for saving her. [5]:p267-268 The Captain, wife, children and most of the crew abandoned the boat and escaped in a boat to Halifax.[9]
The Nettle was not registered with the Record of American and Foreign Shipping, until 1870. From 1870 to 1879, she was registered as a Pilot Schooner, with E. C. Mosser as the owner and pilots F. Willis and Johnson as the Masters; built in 1845 at East Boston; belonging to the Port of New York. Her dimensions were 9ft. in draft; and 31-tons burthen. In 1876, pilot boat Nettle, was still registered with the Port of New York. However, by 1877, she was registered with the Port of Pensacola.[10]
End of service
On February 28, 1876, the wreck of the pilot boat Nettle, was reported lying one mile from the outer bar buoy in 4 1/2 fathoms of water, with her bowsprit underwater; in the Pensacola Bay.[11] In November 1878, there was a contract made with George W. Le Gallais, to remove the sunken wreck of the pilot boat Nettle, and other boats, by July 1, 1879, to improve the Pensacola harbor.[12][13]
George W. Blunt, completed in 1856, was a schooner built in New York that operated as a New York Sandy Hook pilot boat designated Pilot Boat No. 11. The schooner was used to pilot vessels to and from the Port of New York and New Jersey. That schooner was sold to the United States Navy in 1861, renamed and commissioned as the USS G. W. Blunt(1856), serving in the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron in the South. A second schooner, also named George W. Blunt, was built in East Boston in 1861 and purchased to replace the first schooner as a pilot boat.
The Isaac Webb was a 19th-century Sandy Hook pilot boat built in 1860 by Webb & Bell for the New York and Sandy Hook pilots. She received a reward by the Board of Pilot Commissioners of New York for saving three sailors from the wreck of the bark Sarah, that was caught up in a hurricane. The Webb was shipwrecked in a dense fog at Quonochontaug Beach, Long Island in 1879. She was replaced by pilot boat Columbia.
The Moses H. Grinnell was a 19th-century pilot boat built in 1850 for the New York maritime pilots. She was designed by the yacht designer George Steers. The Grinnell was the first pilot boat to feature a fully developed concave clipper-bow, which was to become the New York schooner-rigged pilot boat's trade mark. This new design was the basis for the celebrated yacht America.
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.
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 Washington was a 19th-century Sandy Hook pilot boat built in 1845 by C. & R. Poillon for New York Pilots. She was rebuilt several times, the last with the sail number "22" painted on her mainsail. In 1884, she was sunk by the German steamship Roma, and then replaced by a new Washington.
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 Mary Ann, No. 13 was a 19th-century Sandy Hook pilot boat built for the New York pilots. She helped transport maritime pilots between inbound or outbound ships coming into the New York Harbor. In 1860, the Mary Ann, was one of only twenty-one pilot boats in the New York and New Jersey fleet. She went ashore outside Sandy Hook in 1863.
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 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.
The David Carll was a 19th-century pilot boat, built in 1885 at the David Carll shipyard in City Island, New York. She was named in honor of David Carll, a well-known City Island shipbuilder. The David Carll was considered to be among the fastest schooners in the fleet. She was built to replace the Mary E. Fish that was run down and sank by the schooner Frank Harrington in 1885. She was one of the pilot boats that survived the Great Blizzard of 1888. The David Carll was lost at sea in 1893.
The Abraham Leggett was a 19th-century New York pilot boat built by Daniel Westervelt at the Westervelt & Co. shipyard. She helped transport New York City maritime pilots between inbound or outbound ships coming into the New York Harbor. In 1866, Pilot Michael Murphy was on the Abraham Leggett when the bark Emilie ran into the pilot boat. In 1879, the Abraham Leggett was hit and sank by the steamship Naples from Liverpool. She was replaced by the pilot boat Alexander M. Lawrence.
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.
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.
The Blossom was a 19th-century Sandy Hook pilot boat built for the New York pilots around 1837. She helped transport maritime pilots between inbound or outbound ships coming into the New York Harbor. In 1839, she came across the Slave ship La Amistad. In 1840, there were only eight New York pilot boats, the Blossom being No. 5. Pilot Thomas Freeborn of the Blossom boarded the packet ship John Minturn and tried to guide the ship in bad weather. He was one of thirty-eight passengers that died near the Jersey Shore in 1846.
The Joseph N. Lord was a 19th-century Sandy Hook pilot boat built in 1840 at the Jabez Williams shipyard in East River, for New York pilots. She helped transport maritime pilots between inbound or outbound ships coming into the New York Harbor. The Joseph N. Lord was lost at sea in 1845 at Port-au-Platt, Dominican Republic.
The James W. Elwell was a 19th-century two-masted Sandy Hook pilot boat, built in 1867 by John A. Forsyth at Mystic Bridge, New London, Connecticut for New Jersey and Sandy Hook maritime pilots. She raced for a $1,000 prize at the Cape May Regatta in 1873. She went ashore and was shipwrecked on North Beach Haven, New Jersey in 1875.
References
↑ "Pilot Boat For Sale". New York Daily Herald. New York, New York. July 27, 1845. p.3. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
↑ "To the Editor of the Union". The Washington Union. Washington, District of Columbia. February 19, 1846. p.3. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
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