Sandy Hook Pilots

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Sandy Hook Pilots
Nickname Maritime pilot or Harbor pilot
Named after Sandy Hook, barrier spit
Formation1694
Founded at New York City
Headquarters Staten Island
Location
OriginsA group of men to ensure safe passage of ships into the New York Harbor
Services Piloting
Affiliations Sandy Hook Pilots Association

Sandy Hook Pilots are licensed maritime pilots that are members of the Sandy Hook Pilots Association for the Port of New York and New Jersey, the Hudson River, and Long Island Sound. Sandy Hook pilots guide oceangoing vessels, passenger liners, freighters, and tankers in and out of the harbor. [1] The peninsulas of Sandy Hook, and Rockaway in Lower New York Bay define the southern entrance to the port at the Atlantic Ocean.

Contents

History

Sandy Hook Pilots Association Staten Island headquarters Sandy Hook Pilots building on Staten Island jeh.jpg
Sandy Hook Pilots Association Staten Island headquarters

The Sandy Hook pilots have been piloting ships in the New York Harbor for over 300 years and can be traced back to 1694. The group of men and women ensure safe passage for ships going through The Narrows, which is one of the entrances into the harbors of the Port of New York and New Jersey. [2]

Lying below the surface of the bay and extending from the tip of Sandy Hook to the south shore of Long Island is a series of shoals that separate New York–New Jersey Harbor Estuary from the deeper waters of the Atlantic; known as the Bar of Sandy Hook. For over three centuries the mariners tasked with guiding the ships across this bar have been known as Sandy Hook pilots. [3]

Earliest pilots

Pilot on the lookout. Pilot On Lookout.png
Pilot on the lookout.

As the port of New York-New Jersey grew and the ships evolved so did the role of the pilot and the craft with which he used to ply his trade. The earliest pilots were employed as explorers, tasked with sounding and surveying the harbors for their respective European governments. [4] Henry Hudson used his pijl lood for three days from the deck of the Halve Maen sounding and charting the Lower Bay. The channel he found lay close to the spit of land called Sant Hoek; known today as Sandy Hook. The English term pilot comes from the two Dutch words pijl (pole) and lood (lead). [5] The early colonist of Manhattan Island, kept a whaleboat at Sandy Hook, ready to place a pilot aboard incoming vessels. [6]

After two major shipwrecks in 1836, it became apparent that service for vessels entering and departing the port was necessary. A committee of merchants and citizens organized a small group of local seamen to assist the ship masters coming into the port. [7] [8]

Local profession

The sailor on the great Seal of New York City holds in his hand the traditional tool of the pilot; the lead. This is a testament to the importance of the craft to early New Yorkers. [9] Over the seventeenth century as populations increased, pilotage became a more local profession. The need for local knowledge of tides, currents, shoals, and navigational hazards prompted this change. On March 9, 1694 legislation passed by the Colony of New York appointed the first local mariners as Sandy Hook pilots. [10] [11]

Board of Wardens

Throughout the colonial period pilotage continued to develop. In 1718 competition began to be recognized as a problem; legislation was enacted to punish those who would pose as a pilot by fines or seizure of property. By 1763 the Board of Wardens was created to regulate and license pilots and to strengthen compulsory pilotage established by early acts. [12] When the first American president, George Washington, arrived in Elizabeth, New Jersey he boarded a stately ceremonial barge rowed by thirteen pilots in white uniforms to the Battery for his inauguration. [13]

Pilotage law

In 1784 the New York legislature recognized and strengthened state pilotage law. Under this legislation Zachary Rusler became the first New York State-licensed Sandy Hook Pilot. His license was signed by Governor George Clinton. [9]

War of 1812

During the war of 1812 New York pilots distinguished themselves by running the British naval blockade and bringing news of war to American vessels in European ports as far as Gothenburg and Archangel. This service allowed American vessels valuable time to escape to neutral ports for safety. The blockade of American ports devastated America's maritime commerce and many pilots took to privateering. [9] [14]

First New Jersey Sandy Hook pilot

The Board of Wardens became part of the political machine and pilot appointments were given out as political favors. Many unqualified men crowded the once noble ranks of the New York pilots. It took tragedy to spur change. It came in December 1836 with the wreck of two immigrant ships: the "Mexico" and the "Bristol". During the winter gale both ships came upon the Hook and signaled for pilots. No pilots responded, and the ships wrecked with the loss of the lives of 400 men, women and children. [7] : p93  The public was outraged. The state of New Jersey took action and licensed Theophilus Beebe, owner of a fishing smack at the Fulton Fish Market, as the first New Jersey Sandy Hook Pilot for the ports of Perth Amboy, Newark, and New York Bay. For the first time there was competition between the two states. [15]

Sandy Hook Pilot's License (1854). Sandy Hook Pilot's License.jpg
Sandy Hook Pilot's License (1854).

In 1837 the Board of Wardens was replaced by the Board of Pilot Commissioners charged with licensing and regulating pilotage. The new pilot commission could not overcome the shortcomings of its predecessor and by 1845 legislators repealed all laws governing pilotage. [16] Complicated politics at both the national and state level prompted industry to take matters into their own hands and underwriters and ship-owners collectively began licensing pilots. There were three different groups of pilots competing for work on the bar.

In 1845, an unofficial Pilot Commission was established with two representatives from the Marine Underwriters and three from the Chamber of Commerce. Pilot boats working under the Underwriters' Commission took on licensed pilots that proved to be more insurable because of their strict rules and regulations. By 1846, the Underwriters' Commission became the official body for governing the pilot service. [17] By 1853 the state of New York made it official, making the members of the Board of Underwriters officials of the state, and recognized the board as the official Board of Pilot Commissioners for the State of New York. [18] Today the board is called the Board of Commissioners of Pilots of the State of New York.

On December 23, 1903, Frank P. Van Pelt was secretary and superintendent of the New York and New Jersey Sandy Hook Pilots Association. [19] By August 24, 1922, he became President of the Pilots' Association and chairman of the executive committee of the New York and New Jersey Pilots' Associations. [20] [21]

Competition

Pilot boarding a steamship. Pilot boarding a steamship.jpg
Pilot boarding a steamship.

This era of competition coincided with the port of New York’s ascension to the preeminent U.S port. The Erie Canal was completed opening the Northwest Territories, the arrival of the Liverpool Packet boats, and the lack of a competitive, ice-free, deep water port for one hundred miles in either direction, all led to the consolidation and expansion of the Port of New York. This fierce competition led to the development of the pilot schooner, one of the fastest crafts of her day, since the pilots were forced to race for ships. [4] New York pilots and their boats were involved in several notable events. When Charles Wilkes left on the United States Exploring Expedition in 1838 two of the five ships of the fleet were New York pilot boats. Captain Dick Brown, master of the Mary Taylor, took time away from the service to race the schooner America to victory against the British at Cowes in 1851. [22] In 1846 the pilot boat Romer raced to Great Britain to deliver news of the treaty over the Oregon Territories.

New York levied an extra fee for any vessel boarded outside 15 miles of the Hook. This drove the pilots further offshore. Competition was so great that pilot vessels found themselves cruising out to the Sable Banks to the east and Hatteras to the south. Pilots would be aboard a ship for a thousand miles only to work the last twenty. This system exposed their small craft to all the fury of the Atlantic and the casualties began to mount. Due to the nature of their work and proximity to the Bar, many pilots distinguished themselves with acts of heroism and rescue. One was Captain Thomas Freeborne of the pilot boat Blossom. [23] A member of the old guard of New York pilots, in a February gale in 1846 he called on the barque John Minturn . Seeing that he was a New Yorker, the master refused his service preferring a Jersey man, but when no other pilot called and the sea worsened, the master relented and boarded the pilot. [18] Only now the situation was in extremis and the barque lay towards the lee shore of New Jersey. The pilot did what he could to soften the blow and went aground. He then gave his clothing to the master’s wife and child exposing himself to the cold. He was found frozen to death and later interred at the Green-Wood Cemetery where a large monument marks his grave. [18]

Many of the Sandy Hook men volunteered for naval service during the American Civil War. They helped the federal government in blockading about 1,500 miles of coast. Some of the pilots were so skilled that they won tribute from the Federal naval commandants. On September 29, 1864, the William Bell, No. 24 ventured out to sea and was captured and burned by the Confederate raiding steamer the CSS Tallahassee. [24]

Steamships

With the arrival of steam fewer and fewer ship Masters were willing to slow and take pilots offshore. To them scheduling was everything and the competition for passengers meant you had to make the passage as fast as possible. This economic pressure combined with the staggering loss of life to the service during the Great Blizzard of 1888 spelled the end of the era of competition. By 1895 both states had combined to form the two Associations in existence today. Assets were liquefied and the first steam powered pilot vessel named New York went into service. The era of the Association brought better wages, a regular balanced work rotation, and more structured training. Many surnames of current pilots descend from this time. This era coincided with the deepening of the East Bank Channel into what is now called Ambrose Channel and the development of the petroleum industry in New Jersey that opened the Arthur Kill between Elizabeth and Perth Amboy and made the circumnavigation of Staten Island possible. Additionally this was the time of the great immigration. [5] The leviathans could now enter the port and for the countless would-be Americans who crossed thousands of miles of ocean the first American many would see was a Sandy Hook Pilot.

As the ocean going ships traded their sails for steam, so did the pilots. Later they traded their oars and yawls for motorboats. They saw their port grow for a time to the largest in the world. They also serviced many times the normal number of ships during the two World Wars while serving as Coast Guardsman. They continue to make their vessels available in times of emergencies. The twentieth century saw the pilots engaged in many rescue efforts including the Morro Castle and the Bronx Queen . The twenty first century dawned with the attacks of September 11, 2001. [18] There was an impromptu marine evacuation of lower Manhattan, the likes of which the world had not seen since the battle of Dunkirk, and for which the pilots, boats, and crews played no small part.

Pilots continue to embrace the newest technologies available to provide the safest and most efficient service for their port. [9]

Today

Pilot boat in Upper New York Bay Pilot Boat NYC Harbor.jpg
Pilot boat in Upper New York Bay

The Sandy Hook Pilot base is located on Staten Island, New York. Pilot stations are maintained at the entrance to the Port of New York and New Jersey by Ambrose Light, City Island by Long Island Sound, and Yonkers for the Hudson River." [1] Their fleet includes more than a dozen modern vessels. [25]

The Board of Commissioners of Pilots is a public agency, created by the New York State Legislature, to provide for the selection, training, licensing, and regulation of pilots, who navigate oceangoing vessels, which operate on New York State waters and Connecticut and New Jersey waters. [26]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maritime pilot</span> Mariner who maneuvers ships through dangerous or congested waters

A maritime pilot, marine pilot, harbor pilot, port pilot, ship pilot, or simply pilot, is a mariner who has specific knowledge of an often dangerous or congested waterway, such as harbors or river mouths. Maritime pilots know local details such as depth, currents, and hazards. They board and temporarily join the crew to safely guide the ship's passage, so they must also have expertise in handling ships of all types and sizes. Obtaining the title "maritime pilot" requires being licensed or authorised by a recognised pilotage authority.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseph Henderson (pilot)</span> American harbor pilot

Joseph Henderson was a 19th-century American harbor pilot who guided large vessels into and out of New York Harbor as a Sandy Hook pilot. During his long career his work included bringing the ship that carried the Statue of Liberty safely into port after its trip from Europe.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New York Board of Commissioners of Pilots</span>

The Board of Commissioners of Pilots of The State Of New York is the New York state agency responsible for licensing and regulating pilots within one of the largest harbors in the world. It licenses and regulates up to 75 pilots of the Sandy Hook Pilots. They are called "Sandy Hook pilots" because they maneuver ships across a large and dangerous sand bar along the coast of New Jersey at the southern entrance of Lower New York Bay south of New York City.

Alexander M. Lawrence Sandy Hook Pilot boat

Alexander M. Lawrence was the last of the 19th-century sailing schooners to be in the New York pilot boat service as a station boat. She was one of the largest and fastest in the Sandy Hook fleet. She was built to take the place of the New York pilot-boat Abraham Leggett, No. 4, that was hit by the steamship Naples, in 1879. Her boat model won a medal at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair illustrating the perils of the pilot-boat service. In the age of steam, the Lawrence was sold by the Pilots' Association to the Pacific Mining and Trading Company in 1897.

<i>Moses H. Grinnell</i> (pilot boat) Sandy Hook Pilot boat

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.

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

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.

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

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.

<i>Thomas S. Negus</i> (pilot boat) Sandy Hook Pilot boat

The Thomas S. Negus was a 19th-century two-masted Sandy Hook pilot boat, built by C. & R. Poillon shipyard in Brooklyn in 1873 for the New Jersey maritime pilots. She was built to replace the pilot boat Jane, No. 1, which sank in early 1873. She was the winner of a $1,000 prize at the Cape May Regatta in 1873. She was named for Thomas S. Negus, president of the N. J. Pilots' Commissioners. In 1897, she left the pilot service to prospect for gold during the Klondike Gold Rush.

Edward E. Barrett Sandy Hook Pilot boat

The Edward E. Barrett, or Edward E. Bartlett, was a 19th-century two-masted Sandy Hook pilot boat, built by C. & R. Poillon in 1883 and designed by William Townsend. She helped transport New Jersey maritime pilots between inbound or outbound ships coming into the New York Harbor. She was one of the pilot boats that survived the Great Blizzard of 1888. In the age of steam, the Barrett ended her pilot commission and was sold in 1904.

<i>Hermann Oelrichs</i> (pilot boat) New York Pilot Boat

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.

<i>Edmund Blunt</i> (pilot boat) New York Pilot boat

Edmund Blunt was a 19th-century New York pilot boat built in 1858 by Edward F. Williams for the New York Pilots. She helped transport New York City maritime pilots between inbound or outbound ships coming into the New York Harbor. She survived the Great Blizzard of 1888. In the age of steam, the Blunt along with other pilot boats, were replaced with steamboats. She was built to replace the Jacob L. Westervelt, which sank in 1857.

<i>Edward Cooper</i> (pilot boat) New York Pilot boat

The Edward Cooper was a 19th-century Sandy Hook pilot boat, built in 1879 for New York Pilots at Greenpoint, Brooklyn. She was named in honor of the Mayor of New York City. The Edward Cooper helped transport New York City maritime pilots between inbound or outbound ships coming into the New York Harbor. She survived the Great Blizzard of 1888. In 1892, the Cooper sank in a snowstorm and was replaced by the Joseph Pulitzer in 1894.

<i>Sandy Hook</i> (pilot boat) New York Pilot boat

The Sandy Hook was a steam pilot boat built in 1902, by Lewis Nixon at the Crescent Shipyard in Elizabeth, New Jersey. In 1914, she was purchased by the New York and New Jersey Sandy Hook Pilots Association to replace the pilot boat New Jersey, that was lost in 1914. She could carry 10 to 12 pilots that would help guide ships through the New York Harbor. The Norwegian America Line Oslofjord, with the Crown Prince Olav of Norway and Princess Märtha of Sweden on board, ran into and sank the Sandy Hook in 1939.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Theophilus Beebe</span> Sandy Hook Pilot

Theophilus Beebe III was a 19th-century American Sandy Hook Pilot. He was the first pilot to receive his pilot's license under the New Jersey Pilots' Commission in 1837. Beebe served as pilot on the pilot boat Thomas H Smith. He died on January 9, 1867, in Jersey City, New Jersey.

Thomas D. Harrison New Jersey Pilot boat

Thomas D. Harrison was a 19th-century New York pilot boat built for New Jersey pilots. She was launched from the Jacob S. Ellis & Son shipyard, at Tottenville, Staten Island in 1875. The Harrison went ashore in the Great Blizzard of 1888 with no lives lost. She continued as a pilot boat with Pilot Stephen Cooper in command. She was purchased in 1897 by Allerton D. Hitch and used for coastal trade in the Cape Verde islands off the west African coast.

Walter Brewer was a 19th-century American harbor pilot who guided large vessels into and out of New York Harbor as a Sandy Hook pilot. He was part owner of the pilot boats Virginia, William H. Aspinwall and the America, of the New York fleet.

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

Favorite or Favorita, was a 19th-century New York Sandy Hook pilot boat built in the early 1820s. She helped transport New York City maritime pilots between inbound or outbound ships coming into the New York Harbor. Favorite collided with a United States steamer and sank in 1865 near Barnegat Lighthouse.

The Pilots' Association For The Bay & River Delaware is the official maritime pilot group for the Delaware Bay and Delaware River. The association is one of the oldest state pilot organizations in the nation that was founded in 1896. Delaware Bay Pilots are licensed maritime pilots for the Delaware Bay and River. Delaware pilots guide oceangoing vessels, passenger liners, freighters and tankers in and out of the harbor. The Delaware Bay is bordered inland by the States of New Jersey and Delaware, and the Delaware Capes, Cape Henlopen to the south and Cape May to the north, on the Atlantic Ocean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sandy Hook Pilots Association</span> Association of pilots

Sandy Hook Pilots Association is in Staten Island, New York, United States. The Association provides pilotage services to all foreign flag vessels and American vessels entering or departing the Port of New York and New Jersey, the Hudson River, the East River, Atlantic City, New Jersey, Jamaica Bay, and Long Island Sound as required by state law. Pilotage is provided on a 24-hour basis, 365 days of the year in all weather conditions and port circumstances. It has 50 employees across its locations and generates $7.15 million in sales (USD).

References

  1. 1 2 "Sandy Hook Pilots Association".
  2. ↑ David W. Shaw (1 April 2004). America's Victory: The Heroic Story of a Team of Ordinary Americans -- And How They Won the Greatest Yacht Race Ever. Sheridan House. pp. 240–. ISBN   978-1-57409-187-8.
  3. ↑ Rueb, Emily (17 November 2016). "The Channel Masters of New York Harbor". New York Times. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
  4. 1 2 State Pilotage in America; Historical Outline with European Background, Capt. Ernest A. Clothier 1979
  5. 1 2 The Great Port, A Passage through New York, James Morris 1969
  6. ↑ Scientific American, October 22, 1898, The Pilots and Pilot Boats of New York
  7. 1 2 Cunliffe, Tom (2001). Pilots, The World Of Pilotage Under Sail and Oar. Brooklin, Maine: Wooden Boat Publications. p. 93. ISBN   9780937822692.
  8. ↑ "History of the Sandy Hook Pilots". Archived from the original on 2012-07-29. Retrieved 2020-08-09.
  9. 1 2 3 4 Russell, Charles Edward (1929). From Sandy Hook to 62°. New York: The Century Co. pp. 148–153. OCLC   3804485.
  10. ↑ Charles Z. Lincoln (30 April 2006). The Colonial Laws of New York from the Year 1664 to the Revolution, Including the Charters to the Duke of York, the Commissions and Instructions to Colonial Governors, the Duke's Laws, the Laws of the Dongan and Leisler Assemblies, the Charters of Albany and New York and the Acts of the Colonial Legislatures from 1691 to 1775 Inclusive. The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd. pp. 324–. ISBN   978-1-58477-596-6.
  11. ↑ Documents of the Assembly of the State of New York. 1895. pp. 324–.
  12. ↑ The Colonial Laws of New York from the Year 1664 to the Revolution: Including the Charters to the Duke of York, the Commissions and Instructions to Colonial Governors, the Duke's Laws, the Laws of the Dongan and Leisler Assemblies, the Charters of Albany and New York and the Acts of the Colonial Legislatures from 1691 to 1775 Inclusive. J.B. Lyon, state printer. 1894. pp. 711–.
  13. ↑ Pilot Lore; From Sail to Steam, and historical Sketches of the various interests identified With the Development of the World’s greatest port. Edward L. Allen 1922
  14. ↑ "Atlantic Campaign of the War of 1812 | The Canadian Encyclopedia". www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca. Retrieved 2023-08-25.
  15. ↑ "First Pilots, Fishermen; Business Full of Peril". Times Union. Brooklyn, New York. 1931-04-08. Retrieved 2020-08-09.
  16. ↑ Northwest by ¾ West, Captain Edward C. Winters Jr. 2004
  17. ↑ Pilots The World Of Pilotage Under Sail and Oar by Tom Cunliffe. WoodenBoat. 2001. ISBN   9780937822692 . Retrieved Nov 7, 2019.
  18. 1 2 3 4 Always on Station, The story of the Sandy Hook Ship Pilots: Frances J. Duffy 2008
  19. ↑ "Opposition To A Trunk Sewer". The Morning Call. Paterson, New Jersey. 1903-12-23. Retrieved 2020-08-08.
  20. ↑ "How the Union of New York and New Jersey Pilots Made Piloting a Science". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Brooklyn, New York. 1923-10-07. Retrieved 2020-08-03.
  21. ↑ Allen, Edward L. (1922). Pilot Lore; From Sail to Steam, and Historical Sketches of the Various Interests Identified With the Development of the World's Greatest Port. The United New York and New Jersey Sandy Hook Pilots Benevolent Associations.
  22. ↑ Americas Victory, David W. Shaw 2002
  23. ↑ Sea of Glory, Nathaniel Philbrick 2003
  24. ↑ United States. Dept. of State, Geneva Arbitration Tribunal - 1872
  25. ↑ Sandy Hook Pilots - Pilot Fleet
  26. ↑ Board of Commissioners of Pilots
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