1879 - Losses at Kettle Cove, Caplin Cove & Carbonear
This large storm destroyed a boat belonging to Mr. Shanoe of Lower Island Cove - one of my ancestors. I haven't heard any other accounts of this disaster. It appears that the boat was destroyed at Kettle Cove and contained 75 quintals of winter fish which was going to be used for personal use rather than being sold.
Another boat owned by Mr. Morris of Lower Island Cove was lost which contained 7 casks of oil belonging to Mr. Eli Garland.
In the same storm, the
St. Patrick was lost at Caplin Cove on it's way from Random Sound with various lumber items. It's interesting that the locals looted all the gear from what was left of the destroyed vessel.
The
Mary Jane of Conception Hr. was also destroyed in this storm when it ran ashore near Carbonear Island on a rock ledge referred to as the
Sisters. Over 500 quintals of fish were lost.
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| Harbor Grace Standard November 29, 1879 |
1882 - Loss of the Island Home
Loss of the
Island Home 1882 - Lower Island Cove. Owner Mr. E. Garland, lost at Kettle Cove.
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| Evening Telegram December 19, 1882 |
1886 - A Burnt Point Schooner Disaster
The article below describes a terrible incident which happened in the Fall of 1886.
The schooner
Mary Ann out of Burnt Point (Samuel Stockwood, master) was sailing to St. John's with it's seasons cargo of fish. It left Burnt Point at 10pm and set sail under a moon and moderate NW breeze.
All was well as the schooner rounded Cape St. Francis and headed towards St. John's. But then a little while later, at an area known as
Sugar Loaf near Logy Bay, it ran into trouble. It was 4 a.m.
A lot of the crew were asleep below deck when the they suddenly found themselves on a collision coarse with the schooner
Somerset which sailed out of Twillingate - Captain Rideout at the helm. Both vessels had no lights visible.
There appeared to be some confusion onboard the Somerset with sail adjustment to avoid the collision. Quick decision making was needed, and time was not on their side.
Within minutes the two schooners collided. With both schooners heavy with cargo, the impact was great. The Mary Ann suffered the worse being the smaller of the two vessels. She was basically split in two, only being held afloat for five minutes or so because it's anchor got tangled in the Somerset's rigging or rail.
Efforts were made to get all the people below deck off the schooner. Everyone got out except four people - three men and a Mrs. Fahay. A broken-off mast blocked the exit and the boat was filling with water fast. A crew member grabbed Mrs. Fahay's hand but could not rescue her because the boat was filling quickly and he had to escape to save his own life.
The Mary Ann survivors were taken back to St. John's on the Somerset. They later met with Government representatives of their district to obtain some financial relief.
People who were lost:
Sarah J. Fahey (Burnt Point)
Charles Wicks (Burnt Point)
N. Milley (Burnt Point)
Leander Milley (Burnt Point)
People who were saved:
Charles Milley (Burnt Point)
Samual Stockwood (Burnt Point)
Jasper Wicks (Burnt Point)
Thomas Tucker (Burnt Point)
Charles Tucker (Burnt Point)
Andrew Milley (Burnt Point)
John Davis (Burnt Point)
John Oliver (Gull Island)
Bartlett Oliver (Gull Island)
Patrick Hogan (Gull Island)
Mark Delaney (Gull Island)
John Doyle (Gull Island)
James Doyle (Gull Island)
Peter Doyle (Gull Island)
Michael Percy (Gull Island)
William Oliver (Gull Island)
Thomas Fahey (Gull Island - husband of Sarah who drowned on the schooner)
Gregory Lemon (Gull Island)
James Lemon (Gull Island)
Leander Stockwood (Gull Island)
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| The Evening Telegram September 24, 1886 |
1891 - Flamboro' Head
This clipping describes two boats that were fishing off Flamboro' Head when caught in a gale of wind.
The crew of one boat were rescued while the other was not so lucky. Michael Broderick and Edgar Lowe of LIC survived. The bodies of Edward Broderick of LIC and James Ryall of Job's Cove were not recovered.
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| The Evening Telegram August 22, 1891 |
1894 - Grates Cove
An interesting tale of a steamship. The S.S. Calitro was built at Deptford England by John Laing and Co. She was built for the Neptune Steam Navigation Co. Ltd. and launched in August 1892. Her official number was #99612.
The Delano (pictured above) was built the same year for the Neptune Steam Navagation Co. Ltd. and appears to have had the same specifications, other than the engine size. So this is probably what the Calitro would have looked like. I could not find any information on the Calitro other than her specs.
The Calitro set sail for Baltimore, Maryland Thursday May 10, 1894 carrying a load of cement and a few other items which were picked up in Rotterdam, Netherlands. As they got closer to Newfoundland, they were encountering fog and very little visibility for four days.
When the Officers thought they were somewhere between Cape Race and Ferryland, they started doing depth soundings but could not strike bottom. For this reason they carried on at a slow pace.
They were actually 100 miles north of where they thought they were. Water was deeper the same distance from shore in this location.
Unfortunately they ran aground a short time later, but had no idea where they struck bottom.
The ship started to take on water so they decided to man the lifeboats. Three lifeboats were launched. Five people jumped into one boat, the rest got into the other two boats. A short time after leaving the ship the lifeboat containing the five people ran aground as well, and had to be rescued by the other two lifeboats.
They somehow got to shore and made their way to the nearest settlement which was Grates Cove.
The Calitro had run aground between Red Head Cove and a place called
Horse Fire Islands in Baccalieu tickle. It's the first time I heard of the Horse Fire Islands. Maybe a fisherman or somebody familiar with the area would know where this is located?
The crew head back to the Calitro to retrieve whatever belongings they could. While attempting to board the ship the second officer and second engineer had to jump back into the water fearing the ship was going to tip over. They had to be rescued from the water.
It appears that there was no loss of life and the Officers and Crew made it back home to safety. They said they would never forget their ordeal in Newfoundland and the efforts of the community to help them out.
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| The Evening Telegram May 21, 1894 |
1894 - Red Lands
The schooner
Otter was lost off Red Lands. The crew was fishing in Baccalieu Tickle and the boat sprang a leak during a thunderstorm. The crew decided to head into the backside of Bay de Verde and could not find the source of the leak. The next day they left for Hr. Grace to repair the damages but ran into bad weather which forced her to take shelter at Flamboro' Head. When she finally left for Hr. Grace, they rain into trouble off Red Lands which forced them to abandon the vessel and it sank shortly after. The crew made it to safety but the boat and all it's equipment was lost.
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| The Evening Telegram September 2, 1894 |
1895 - Between Flambro' Head and Baccalieu
Another reported loss of an "old" schooner - over 20 years old. Capt. William Kent had set sail for Catalina from St. John's on the
Othello. It sounds like the old boat started to leak and filled up fairly quickly with water. Despite the crews best efforts to pump the water out through the night, they eventually had to abandon the vessel somewhere between Flambro' Head and Baccalieu Island. It sank a short time later. It appears that the crew made it to safety in Western Bay after a failed attempt to land in Northern Bay due to the rough seas.
1896 - Lower Island Cove
Some sad news reported from Lower Island Cove by A.G. Hudson.
There was a heavy sea running August 25th, 1896 and several fishing crews took their chances and decided to venture out on the water. When the swells increased, the boats decided to row to Kettle Cove to find smoother waters. During the row to Kettle Cove the weather seemed to subside and they decided to head back to Island Cove and try to land again. The intention was to row further south to Job's Cove Droke if seas were still too bad.
Lower Island Cove never had much shelter from rough seas and winds - only the Island provided a little protection from the waves. The breakwater located there today makes it a lot easier to get to shore. But it is still a very tricky place to navigate a boat in rough seas, due to the narrow passage between the rocks and wharf. "Cooper's wharf" area was probably where they were trying to land. A little North of the existing government wharf and breakwater.
When Mr. Hezekiah Cooper's boat got back near Island Cove, some person on shore started to call out, telling the crew to land. The other boats fishing that day appeared to carry on to Job's Cove, the crews deciding it was just too rough to land. Mr. Hezekiah Cooper (45) and his Nephews Edward (20) and Charles (14) Cooper were drowned trying to make it back to land. Hezekiah's Son and Stepson were rescued along with a young man named Northman. Another boat was sent out to try and rescue the men, but it was no match for the big sea and driven back to the shore.
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| The Evening Telegram August 1896 |
1900 - Schooner Jewel - Salmon Cove
Reported that the schooner
Jewel was destroyed when it ran aground at Salmon Cove sands with a quantity of fish aboard a few weeks before Christmas. Eli Garland was the owner.
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| The Evening Telegram December 7, 1900 |
1908 - Flamborough Head
This is quiet the story of survival!
Skipper Bowring and his crew on the schooner
Jane was heading back to Bay Roberts from St. John's when they encountered very high winds in Conception bay which put them off coarse and further north. They decided to head for Flamborough Head to seek shelter from the high winds. They made it to Flamborough Head and decided to drop a couple anchors.
The winds were so high, they feared that the anchors mooring their schooner would break, so they abandoned the schooner in their small boat and attempt to get to shore. They got the small boat to shore and managed to hop onto a rock ledge. The cliffs were so high they were unable to get off the ledge, and had to spend the night there with no supplies. Anybody familiar with Flamborough Head will know how high those cliffs are!
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| The Cliffs of Flamborough Head 2018 |
The next morning they discovered the small boat was broken up by the rocks and they were unable to get back to the schooner. The good news was the schooner survived the storm and appeared to be in good order. There's nothing reported about the crew being injured - or worse.
Residents of Kettle Cove spotted the schooner and noticed there was no movement on deck. They dispatched a trap skiff and rowed in search of the crew. The crew were rescued from the rock and tended to back in Kettle Cove.
The next day they safely made it back to Bay Roberts.
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| The Evening Telegram December 31, 1908 |
1912 - Kettle Cove
Yet another terrible accident reported by A.G. Hudson, March 22, 1912.
Elijah Snelgrove and his fishing partner George Snelgrove, along with their cousin William H. Snelgrove left Lower Island Cove in search for an anchor they lost the previous year at Kettle Cove.
While attempting to pull up the anchor, their boat somehow got caught up in the chain and flipped over, or the weight of the anchor pulled the boat under. It's not certain what exactly happened.
It was reported that the boat could be seen 2 or 3 fathoms under the surface when they finally got out to the area.
All men were lost.
It's reported that Elijah was supposed join the ship
Erna to the seal hunt, but it was delayed arriving in St. John's. As a result he returned to Lower Island Cove and later drowned in this awful accident.
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| The Evening Telegram March 23, 1912 |
The accident is also reported in The James Ryan Diary in 1912:
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| The James Ryan Diary 1912 |
It appears they did recover the bodies a short time later
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| The Evening Telegram March 26, 1912 |
1912 - Schooner Adventure - Between Flambro Head & Bay de Verde
Report of the schooner Adventure being found and recovered. It appeared to be in hard shape.
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| The Evening Telegram 1912 |
1921 - Various Locations
A big storm October 28, 1921 appeared to have caused a lot death and destruction along the shores of Conception and Trinity Bays including:
Schooner Passport: ashore at Caplin Cove - no bodies recovered
Schooner Prospector: Nathan Vokey master - total loss at Caplin Cove - crew safe
Schooner Pansy: William Frost master from Bay de Verde - total loss at Lower Island Cove - crew safe
Schooner Gordon: W.J. Johnson master - lost at Low Point - crew safe.
Schooner Galatea: E. Sturge master - ashore at Grate's Cove - crew safe
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| The Evening Telegram December 7, 1921 |
1929 - Crime on the Waters of Lower Island Cove?
It appears that Randell Garland - 27 years old - was drowned when his fishing boat was cut down by a motorboat. The motorboat was manned by three men, and the event happened in Flamborough Head Cove (probably what we refer to today as the Flambro Head "
Bite"). Fog was not present at the time so it sounds like this collision was a deliberate act. Mr. Garland was out jigging this early morning when the event took place.
It was reported that the boat did not belong to LIC. A hit and run - which turned out to be fatal. Someone must have witnessed this happening from a distance - probably another fisherman out on the water. Did they really not know the men in the boat? Maybe they were afraid to report them out of fear.
An unsolved mystery? Maybe some member of the Garland family may have heard of the event and can comment.
Details are scanty!
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| Harbor Grace Standard - July 26, 1929 |
1931 - Explosion on the S.S. Viking
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| Film crew near the SS Viking - From the Illustrated London News April 4, 1931 |
I found quite a few interesting articles and books regarding the the S.S. Viking explosion that happened in 1931 just off Horse Islands, off the Baie Verte Peninsula. I noticed there was a Lower Island Cove connection to the vessel.
J. Wheeler from Lower Island Cove was a First Master-watch on the vessel. Also a
W. Johnston from Conception Bay was a Master-watch. Good chance he was from LIC as well.
From Wikipedia:
Horse Islands became famous during the shooting of a Canadian movie, with financial backing from Paramount Pictures, The Viking, directed by Varick Frissell, a New York filmmaker. The movie was shot aboard the SS Viking and it was to feature the lives of Newfoundland Sealers. On 15 March 1931, while the film crew were preparing to shoot background footage, the whole stern of the Viking was blown off by an explosion. Viking caught fire and sank, killing Frissel and 26 other men. Some of the survivors made the over-ice trek to Horse Islands, while some were rescued by other vessels dispatched to the area.
That concludes this blog post on Schooner and Boat losses. I will add more information if I come across more. Hope you enjoyed reading this, and email if you have anything to add or comments. Thanks!
S.
