History
United Kingdom
NameRevolving Light
Out of service19 December 1902
Fatewrecked at Texel, the Netherlands on 18 December 1902
General characteristics
TypeBarque
Tonnage1,338 ton
Length196 ft (60 m)
Crew17[1]

Revolving Light sometimes written as Revolvinglight was a barque launched from the Turner Shipyard in Harvey Bank, New Brunswick on 15 September 1875. The ship was 196 feet (60 m) long and had a tonnage of 1,338 tons. The ship was the first ship of the Turner Shipyard of Gaius Samuel Turner.[1]

She was a merchant ship and sailed for 27 years across the world.[1]

Fate

In December 1902 the ship with a cargo of bones was sailing with captain Helgesen, from Buenos Aires via IJmuiden, the Netherlands to Hamburg, Germany.[2][3] On 18 December she was towed by “Gebr. Wrede” from IJmuiden through the tricky channels off the Dutch coastal islands. During an unexpected storm she floundered on a sandbar near Texel between De Koog and Eierland.[2][1] Tugboat Gebr. Wrede arrived at Texel with 16 rescued crew members, one crew member was killed.[4] The ship was in Dutch newspapers reported as a Norwegian ship.

Aftermath and legacy

Various items from the ship washed ashore including: a sailor's chest, toys, cow horns,[5] Koehorens[6] sloop, paper from the ship's logbook and small wreckage.[3] Later in month, on 27 December 1902 the ship was completely destroyed during a storm.[7] In February 1903, found items were sold publicly.[8]

1952 exposure

Fifty years after the ship wrecked, after heavy winds in 1952, the wreckage was exposed again on the beach.[9]

Farmhouses

In Texel farmhouses were built with beams of the ship. These kind of farmhouses needed big timber beams big creating a square of around 6.5 metres (21 ft) high, on which the full weight of the roof rested. Later research into these beams showed that they came indeed from the three-masted Revolving Light from the Turner Shipyard in Harvey Bank. As of 2002 farmhouses like these still exist.[1]

Replica of the vessel

In the 2000s a replica of the ship was built for the restored wharf at New Brunswick in Canada.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Carr, Denorah. "The Return of the Revolving Light". Saltscapes magazine.
  2. 1 2 "Revolving Light". Scheepvaart (in Dutch). 20 December 1902 – via Delpher.
  3. 1 2 "Texel, 20 Dec". Het nieuws van den dag (in Dutch). 23 December 1902 – via Delpher.
  4. ↑ "Cuxhaven, 20 Dec". Rotterdamsch Nieuwsblad (in Dutch). 23 December 1902 – via Delpher.
  5. ↑ "Revolving Light". Algemeen Handelsblad (in Dutch). 21 December 1902 – via Delpher.
  6. ↑ "Revolving Light". Scheepvaart (in Dutch). 23 December 1902 – via Delpher.
  7. ↑ "Texel". Het nieuws van den dag (in Dutch). 29 December 1902 – via Delpher.
  8. ↑ "Revolving Light". De Telegraaf (in Dutch). 13 February 1903 – via Delpher.
  9. ↑ "De zee knaagt aan Texel". Provinciale Overijsselsche en Zwolsche courant (in Dutch). 5 December 1952 – via Delpher.
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