Pilot Boat Hesper, photograph by Nathaniel Stebbins.
History
United States
NameHesper
OwnerGeorge W. Lawler, Augustus Hooper, and James L. Smith
OperatorJohn Henry Low, George W. Lawler, James L. Smith, J. A. G. McField, Augustus Hooper, R. L. Stubbs, and R. Y. Woodbury.
BuilderMontgomery & Howard shipyard
LaunchedOctober 4, 1884
Out of serviceMay 13, 1901
FateSold
General characteristics
Class and typeschooner
Tonnage94-tons TM[1]
Length104 ft 0 in (31.70 m)
Beam22 ft 0 in (6.71 m)
Draft91 ft 0 in (27.74 m)
Depth12 ft 0 in (3.66 m)
PropulsionSail
NotesFrame white oak and planked with hard pine.

The Hesper was a 19th-century Boston pilot boat built in 1884, designed from a model by Dennison J. Lawlor as a Boston yacht and pilot-boat for merchant and ship owner George W. Lawler. She was known to be the largest pilot boat under the American flag at 104 feet long and the fastest of the Boston fleet. She competed in several first-class sailing races, and in 1886, the Hesper won the silver cup in what was known as the first Fishermen's Race. She was withdrawn from the pilot service and sold in 1901. The Hesper became a wreck on the point off Cape Henlopen in 1919.

Construction and service

Captain George W. Lawler.
Pilot James L. Smith.

The pilot-boat Hesper, No. 5, was launched on October 4, 1884, from the Montgomery & Howard shipyard in North Chelsea, Massachusetts.[2] She was designed from a model by Dennison J. Lawlor.[3] The pilots assigned to the Hesper were: Captains George W. Lawler, James L. Smith, J. A. G. McField, Augustus Hooper, R. L. Stubbs, and R. Y. Woodbury.[4]

She was the largest pilot-boat under the American flag at 104 feet long. She was the talk of the Boston waterfront because she was the fastest of the Boston fleet. The owners of the Hesper were: Captains George W. Lawler, Augustus Hooper, and Lewis Smith.[1][5] The Hesper was a departure from earlier Lawlor designas as she was longer, deeper and more narrow than other Boston pilot boats.[6]

Half Model of the Pilot Schooner Hesper.
The race between pilot-boat Hesper and fishing schooner Fredonia off Boston harbor.

The wooden half-model of the Hesper (TR.076037) was a gift by D. J. Lawlor to the "United States National Museum" now the Smithsonian Institution.[7]

In September, 1885, in the fifth America's Cup, Captain Lawler sailed the Hesper, flying a balloon-jib topsail, to New York with some friends aboard, to watch the race between the Puritan and the British challenger, Genesta. John Malcolm Forbes built and skippered the Puritan.[5][8] Irish-born sailmaker John H. McManus of McManus & Son, of Boston made the sails for the Puritan, made of Plymouth duck. The Puritan beat the Genesta and won the silver cup.[9]: 122 

As a yacht, the Hesper competed in several first-class sailing races. In May 1886, the Hesper won the silver cup between the Boston Hesper and the fishing schooner John H. McManus. The contest was sponsored by John Malcolm Forbes and Thomas F. McManus. Forbes added the silver cup if the Hesper was added to the racing group. The race was from Boston to Gloucester, rounding the buoy off Eastern Point Light. Eleven fishing schooners took part in the first Fishermen's Race. McManus became known as the father of Fishermen's races.[5][10]

On September 26, 1889, there was a race between the pilot-boat Hesper against the fishing schooner Fredonia, which was owned by John Malcolm Forbes. The race was for $6,000. The Fredonia, won. The race results were Fredonia 10:31:13 and the Hesper 10:32:08.[11][12]

On September 26, 1888, the Massachusetts Humane Society awarded a silver medal to Captain William M. McMellen of the pilot-boat Hesper and bronze medals to Franklin "Frank" Fowler and George W. Lawler of the crew. The three men rescued four of the crew from the Barque Hattie L. Curtis. The Curtis sank in heavy weather and the crew had taken safety on a raft before being picked up by the Hesper.[13] Captain Franklin Fowler was the son of Captain James L. Fowler.[14]

In 1900, Boston had seven pilots boats in commission. The Hesper was Boston's pilot schooner number five. The other Boston boats included, the America, No. 1; Liberty, No. 3; Adams, No. 4; Varuna, No. 6; Minerva, No. 7; and Sylph, No 8.[4]

End of service

In 1901, when the Boston pilots reorganized down to five boats, the pilot-boat Hesper was withdrawn from the pilot service. On May 13, 1901, the Hesper, was sold to Andrew C. Wheelwright, a retired merchant of Rowes Wharf, in Boston, Massachusetts.[15][5]

On May 5, 1919, the Hesper was struck on the point of Cape Henlopen of the Delaware Bay and became a total wreck. Captain McLean was commander of the vessel.[16]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "The Largest Pilot Boat Aloat". The Boston Daily Globe. Boston, Massachusetts. 4 Oct 1884. p. 1. Retrieved 2020-10-22 – via NewspaperArchive.
  2. ↑ "The Largest American Pilot Boat". Passaic Daily Times. Passaic, New Jersey. 4 Oct 1884. p. 1. Retrieved 2021-05-30.
  3. ↑ Cunliffe, Tom (2001). Pilots, The World Of Pilotage Under Sail and Oar. Brooklin, Maine: WoodenBoat. p. 126. ISBN 9780937822692.
  4. 1 2 "Boston's Pilot System". The Boston Globe. Boston, Massachusetts. 29 Apr 1900. p. 32. Retrieved 2021-02-14.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Eastman, Ralph M. (1956). Pilots and pilot boats of Boston Harbor. Boston, Massachusetts: Second Bank-State Street Trust Company. p. 48.
  6. ↑ Chapelle, H. I. (1936). "American Pilot Boats Part III, The Boston Model" (PDF). LIX (III). Concord, N. H.: Yachting: 55. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  7. ↑ Chapelle, Howard I. (1960). "The National Watercraft Collection". United States National Museum, Bulletin 219. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution. p. 90. ISBN 9780598368652.
  8. ↑ "Course Sailed Yesterday By Puritan and Genesta". The Boston Daily Globe. Boston, Massachusetts. 12 Sep 1885. p. 1. Retrieved 2020-10-23 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ↑ Dunne, W. M. P.; Patrick, William Matthew (1934). Thomas F. McManus and the American fishing schooners: an Irish-American success story. Mystic, Conn., Mystic Seaport Museum. ISBN 9780913372692.
  10. ↑ "Races of Past Years in Which the Hesper and Carrie E. Phillips Competed". The Boston Globe. Boston, Massachusetts. 13 Jun 1898. p. 8. Retrieved 2020-10-22 – via NewspaperArchive.
  11. ↑ "Fredonia Defeats Hesper. The Pilot Boat Outsailed At Every Point". Boston Post. Boston, Massachusetts. 27 Sep 1889. p. 8. Retrieved 2020-10-22 – via NewspaperArchive.
  12. ↑ Santos, Michael Wayne (2002). "Caught in Irons, North Atlantic Fishermen in the Last Days of Sail". Susquehanna University Press. p. 47. Retrieved 2020-10-23.
  13. ↑ "Rewards For Bravery". Boston Post. Boston, Massachusetts. 29 Oct 1898. p. 8. Retrieved 2020-10-23 – via NewspaperArchive.
  14. ↑ "Fell To Floor Dead. Capt Franklin Fowler, Well Known Pilot, Expired of Heart Disease in the Cafe at Parker's". The Boston Globe. Boston, Massachusetts. 26 Jan 1902. p. 7. Retrieved 2020-10-24 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ↑ "Will Become A Yacht. Pilot Boat Hesper, Fastest of the Fleet, Sold to A. C. Wheelwright". The Boston Daily Globe. Boston, Massachusetts. 13 May 1901. p. 5. Retrieved 2021-05-30.
  16. ↑ "Old Pilot Boat Hesper Wrecked". The Boston Globe. Boston, Massachusetts. 5 May 1919. p. 11. Retrieved 2020-10-23 – via NewspaperArchive.
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