Sandy Hook pilot

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. 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.