New Jersey (pilot boat)
The New Jersey was a steam pilot boat built in 1902 for the New York and New Jersey Pilots' Association. After twelve years of service she sank off Ambrose Lightship in 1914. The New Jersey was replaced by the pilot boat Sandy Hook.
 Steam Pilot Boat New Jersey, built for New Jersey State Commission. | |
| History | |
|---|---|
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} US | |
| Name: | New Jersey |
| Namesake: | New Jersey |
| Owner: | New Jersey Pilots |
| Operator: | John Lyle |
| Builder: | A. C. Brown & Sons |
| Cost: | $90,000 |
| Launched: | 28 May 1902 |
| Christened: | 28 May 1902 |
| Out of service: | 10 July 1914 |
| Fate: | Sank |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | schooner |
| Length: | 158 ft 0 in (48.16 m) |
| Beam: | 28 ft 0 in (8.53 m) |
| Draft: | 13 ft 0 in (3.96 m) |
| Depth: | 19 ft 0 in (5.79 m) |
| Propulsion: | Sail and steam motor |
| Notes: | She had electric lights and yawl launching devices. |
Construction and service
In 1902, the steam pilot-boat New Jersey was built by A. C. Brown & Sons of Tottenville, Staten Island for the New York and New Jersey Pilot Boat Association.[1]:p206
The New Jersey was launched on 28 May 1902 at Tottenville, Staten Island, in the attendance of over one thousand people. She was christened by Bessie Brown, the daughter of the builder of A. C. Brown & Sons, by breaking a bottle of champagne over the bow. Her dimensions were 158 ft. in length; 28 ft. breadth of beam; 18.6 ft. in depth; 14 ft. mean draft. She was 2 ft. longer than the New York. She had triple-expansion engines of 650-horse power. She went into commission on 12 November 1902.[2][3]
At this time, the New York and New Jersey Pilots' Association were united. As a result, the New Jersey and the New York, took up the task of doing pilot work at the Sandy Hook lightship. The New Jersey was so well constructed that she was used as an ice-breaking ram during the winter months.[1]:p90
On 30 September 1912, Captain John Lyle from the pilot-boat New Jersey, rescued eight men from the motorboat Dewey, when their boat had drifted ten miles from the Sandy Hook Light. The men were employed ar the U.S. Metal Refining Company of Carteret, New Jersey.[4]
End of service
On 10 July 1914, after only twelve years of pilot service, in a dense fog, the United Fruit steamship Manchioneal, rammed and sank the New Jersey, off the Ambrose Lightship. The crew of 17 men were rescued by the Manchioneal. The steam pilot boat Sandy Hook, was purchased to replace the lost New Jersey.[5] [1]:p89
Sandy Hook
The steam pilot-boat Sandy Hook replaced the New Jersey when she was lost in 1914. The Sandy Hook was formerly the steam yacht Anstice. She was built in 1902, by Lewis Nixon at the Crescent Shipyard in Elizabeth, New Jersey. She was launched on 12 September 1902 at Elizabeth, N. J., for fishing. Her dimensions were 168.6 ft. in length; 24.4 ft. breadth of beam; 12.6 ft in depth; and 361-tons. She was built with an 1,000-horse power engine powered by oil.[6][1]:p90
In 1903, R. A. C. Smith, of New York, purchased the steamer Anstice and converted her into a yacht at the Harlan and Hollingsworth Company in Wilmington, Delaware.[7] By 1907, her name was changed from Anstice to Privateer.[8]
In 1914, the Privateer was purchased by the New York and New Jersey Pilots' Association from R. A. C. Smith to replace the pilot boat New Jersey.
In 1931, in place of what was once thirty pilot boats, there were only three steam pilot boats remaining in the pilot fleet, the Trenton, the ' New York, and the Sandy Hook.[9]
References
- Allen, Edward L. (1922). Pilot Lore From sail to Steam. New York: The United New York and New Jersey Sandy Hook Pilots Benevolent Associations.
- "Courier Wirelets". Courier-Post May. Camden, New Jersey. 28 May 1902. p. 3. Retrieved 14 Jan 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- "New Pilot Boat Launched". New-York Tribune. New York, New York. 29 May 1902. p. 2. Retrieved 14 Jan 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Eight Fishermen Of Carteret Almost Froze At Sea". The Central New Jersey Home News. New Brunswick, New Jersey. 30 Sep 1912. p. 4. Retrieved 2021-01-14 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Fruit Steamer Rammed". The Windsor Star. Windsor, Ontario, Canada. 10 Jul 1914. p. 2. Retrieved 2021-01-14 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Novel Type of Ship". Mount Union Times. Mount Union, Pennsylvania. 12 Sep 1902. p. 7. Retrieved 2021-01-14 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Local Plant Busy. Harlan and Hollingsworth Company has a Number of Important Contracts. Make Steamer into Yacht". The Morning News. Wilmington, Delaware. 12 Feb 1903. p. 1. Retrieved 2021-01-14.
- "Yacht Privateer Awaiting Owner". The Baltimore Sun. Baltimore, Maryland. 24 Apr 1907. p. 12. Retrieved 2021-01-14 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Harbor Pilots Cheat Death-Dealing Reefs". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Brooklyn, New York. 9 Jul 1931. p. 69. Retrieved 2021-01-13 – via Newspapers.com.