The ''Columbia'' was a 19th-century

pilot boat A pilot boat is a type of boat used to transport maritime pilots between land and the inbound or outbound ships that they are piloting. Pilot boats were once sailing boats that had to be fast because the first pilot to reach the incoming ship ...

built C. & R. Poillon

shipyard A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance a ...

in 1879 for

Sandy Hook Sandy Hook is a barrier spit in Middletown Township, Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. The barrier spit, approximately in length and varying from wide, is located at the north end of the Jersey Shore. It encloses the southern en ...

and

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

pilots that owned the ''Isaac Webb'', which was lost off Quonochontaug Beach, Long Island in July 1879. She was run down by the

Guion Line The Liverpool and Great Western Steamship Company, known commonly as the Guion Line, was a British passenger service that operated the Liverpool-Queenstown-New York route from 1866 to 1894. While incorporated in Great Britain, 52% of the company ...

steamer ''SS Alaska'' in 1883. A second pilot-boat, also named ''Columbia'', was built by Ambrose A. Martin at East Boston in 1894 that had a unique spoon bow and was extremely fast. She was thrown ashore in the great

Portland Gale The Portland Gale was a storm that struck the coast of New England on November 26 and 27, 1898. The storm formed when two low pressure areas merged off the coast of Virginia and travelled up the coast; at its peak, it produced a storm surge of abo ...

, and remained on the Sand Hills beach in

Scituate, Massachusetts Scituate () is a seacoast town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States, on the South Shore, midway between Boston and Plymouth. The population was 19,063 at the 2020 census. History The Wampanoag and their neighbors have inhabited ...

for over thirty years as a marine curiosity. The Louise No. 2 replaced the ill-fated ''Columbia''.

First ''Columbia'' pilot boat

Construction and service

The original ''Columbia'', was launched on November 15, 1879 by the C. & R. Poillon shipyard at the foot of Bridge Street,

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

. The boat was built for Captain Augustus Van Pelt and other New York pilots, to take the place of the ''Isaac Webb,'' pilot-boat No. 8. The ''Web'', went ashore in a dense fog off

Point Judith, Rhode Island Point Judith is a village and a small Cape (geography), cape, on the coast of Narragansett, Rhode Island, on the western side of Narragansett Bay where it opens out onto Rhode Island Sound. It is the location for the year-round ferry service that ...

in July 1879. At the launch, the christening was performed by Augustus Van Pelt's daughter, Mary Louis Van Pelt, who broke the customary bottle of champagne over the bow of the vessel. The company of captains that owned the ''Columbia'' were: Augustus Van Pelt, Benjamin Simonson, Henry Seguine, Stephen H. Jones, Christopher M. Wolf, and Daniel V. Jones. The ''Columbia'' was in several accidents. On February 3, 1880, during a winter storm, the ''Columbia No. 8'' placed a pilot on board the inbound Guion Line steamship ''Arizona'', twenty-five miles from Sandy Hook. Several pilots from the ''Columbia'' were thrown into the sea. The ''Arizona'' was able to rescue the pilots and bring them onboard. The ''Columbia'' managed to make it to Newport, Rhode Island with her flags flying

half mast Half-mast or half-staff (American English) refers to a flag flying below the summit of a ship mast, a pole on land, or a pole on a building. In many countries this is seen as a symbol of respect, mourning, distress, or, in some cases, a salut ...

. On March 27, 1883, the ''Columbia'' was struck 45 miles southeast of Sandy Hook, by the

Holland America Line Holland America Line is an American-owned cruise line, a subsidiary of Carnival Corporation & plc headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. Holland America Line was founded in Rotterdam, Netherlands, and from 1873 to 1989, it operated ...

''Rotterdam'' of the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

Mall Line. She was able to be towed into New York City for repairs. On December 2, 1883, the ''Columbia, No. 8'', was run down and sank off

Fire Island Fire Island is the large center island of the outer barrier islands parallel to the South Shore of Long Island, in the U.S. state of New York. Occasionally, the name is used to refer collectively to not only the central island, but also Long ...

to the south shore of

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

, by the Guion Line steamer ''SS Alaska''. The ''Alaska'' smashed into the ''Columbia'' and split her in two. the All hands were lost in this disaster. The report of the loss of the ''Columbia'' showed the danger that pilots encountered when trying to board a steamship in rough weather. The names of the six pilots that perished were: Christian Wolf, Thomas H. Metcalf, Ralph Noble, Charles Arnold, William White, and Abraham Jones. Henry Seguine, one of the surviving owners, said that Captain Murray of the ''Alaska'' should have let his engines remain quiet to avoid the accident and allow the pilot to board the vessel.

Second ''Columbia'' pilot boat

In May 17, 1894, a new, bigger 95-feet pilot-boat ''Columbia,'' was launched from the Ambrose A. Martin's East Boston, Massachusetts shipyard. She was built for pilot service for Captain Thomas Cooper E. G. Martin, John C. Fawcett and Joseph Fawcett, to replace the pilot-boat ''Friend, No. 7''. They wanted a more up-to-date vessel to challenge the ''Hesper'', ''Varuna'', and other faster boats of the Boston fleet. She was the first pilot boat to be built with a modified spoon bow. She was registered as ''Number 2,'' for the Boston Pilots under command of Captain Cooper. After her launch she was towed to Battery Wharf, where she took on ballast. She was rigged by Francis Lowe & Sons. After being in service for only three months, the ''Columbia'', was struck by the ''John B. Manning'', of New York, a four-masted schooner on September 26, 1894. The schooner struck the ''Columbia'' on the

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...

bow. She was damaged but made it back into port at East Boston. Captain Thomas Cooper was the pilot on the ''Columbia''. On December 5, 1897, the ''Columbia, No. 2'', was struck by the ocean liner ''City of Macon'', when she was preparing to leave port. Captain Cooper was onboard at the time of the accident. On April 3, 1898, Charles I. Lampee, during spring vacation, went on a cruise with his grandfather skipper Thomas Cooper. They went three hundred miles from Boston when they came across the steamer Warren Line ''Norseman''. The pilot flag was set and pilot John Fawcett rowed a yawl to the steamer to climb on board. Pilot William Abbott boarded another Warren Line steamship, the ''Otoman''.

End of service

On November 26, 1898, while returning to Boston from the outer station, after putting Thomas Cooper, William Abbott, John Fawcett, Joseph Fawcett and Axel Olsen aboard incoming vessels, the ''Columbia'' was driven ashore at the notorious Sand Hills beach in

Scituate Scituate is the name of some communities in New England in the United States: *Brunswick, Maine, formerly named Scituate *Scituate, Massachusetts, a New England town **Scituate (CDP), Massachusetts, an area in the town of Scituate *Scituate, Rhode ...

in the great

with the loss of all five men aboard. She was designed for rough weather and was only four years old. Other vessels were wrecked and homes were smashed in the winter storm. The giant seas tossed the ''Columbia'' into a seaside cottage. When the railroad line was open, Captain Cooper went to see the wreck, and realizing she could not be salvaged, sold her to a marine junk dealer for $300. She originally cost $12,00 to build. The shell of her remained on the beach at Sand Hills for over thirty years as a marine curiosity. For two days,

patrol A patrol is commonly a group of personnel, such as Law enforcement officer, law enforcement officers, military personnel, or Security guard, security personnel, that are assigned to monitor or secure a specific geographic area. Etymology Fro ...

men of the North Scituate Station picked their way through the wreckage during a snowstorm. Captain Cooper, who was not onboard the ''Columbia'', was transferred to the pilot-boat ''Varuna,'' No. 6, that he had ownership with. Cooper was never the same after the loss of the ''Columbia'' and the men that served with him for a number of years. The Louise No. 2 replaced the ill-fated ''Columbia''.

External links

Scituate Historical Society

References