The ''Sandy Hook'' was a

steam Steam is a substance containing water in the gas phase, and sometimes also an aerosol of liquid water droplets, or air. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporizat ...

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 shi ...

built in 1902, by Lewis Nixon at the

Crescent Shipyard Crescent Shipyard, located on Newark Bay in Elizabeth, New Jersey, built a number of ships for the United States Navy and allied nations as well during their production run, which lasted about ten years while under the Crescent name and banner. ...

Elizabeth, New Jersey Elizabeth is a city and the county seat of Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.New J ...

. In 1914, she was purchased by the New York and New Jersey Sandy Hook Pilots Association to replace the pilot boat ''New Jersey,'' that was lost in 1914. She could carry 10 to 12 pilots that would help guide ships through the New York Harbor. The

Norwegian America Line The Norwegian America Line ( no, Den Norske Amerikalinje), was a shipping line, originally an operator of ocean liners and cargo ships. Founded in 1910, the company ran a regular transatlantic service between Norway and the United States, and late ...

''Oslofjord'', with the

Crown Prince Olav Olav V (; born Prince Alexander of Denmark; 2 July 1903 – 17 January 1991) was the King of Norway from 1957 until his death in 1991. Olav was the only child of King Haakon VII of Norway and Maud of Wales. He became heir apparent to the Norw ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

and

Princess Märtha of Sweden Princess Märtha of Sweden (Märtha Sofia Lovisa Dagmar Thyra; 28 March 1901 – 5 April 1954) was Crown Princess of Norway as the spouse of the future King Olav V from 1929 until her death in 1954. The presently reigning King Harald V is h ...

on board, ran into and sank the ''Sandy Hook'' in 1939.

Construction and service

The steel steam ''Sandy Hook'' was formerly the

yacht A yacht is a sailing or power vessel used for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a , as opposed to a , such a pleasu ...

''Anstice.'' She was launched on September 12, 1902 by Lewis Nixon of the

Elizabeth, New Jersey Elizabeth is a city and the county seat of Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.New J ...

for fishing in the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United S ...

. In 1903, Robert A. C. Smith, of New York, purchased the steamer ''Anstice'' and converted her into a yacht at the

Harlan and Hollingsworth Harlan & Hollingsworth was a Wilmington, Delaware, firm that constructed ships and railroad cars during the 19th century and into the 20th century. Founding Mahlon Betts, a carpenter, arrived in Wilmington in 1812. After helping construct many ...

Company in

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington (Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christin ...

. Her dimensions were 168.6 ft. in length; 24.4 ft. breadth of beam; 12.6 ft in depth; and 361-tons. She was built with an 1,000-horse power engine powered by oil. On April 24, 1907, Robert A. C. Smith's ''Anstice'' name was changed to ''Privateer.'' Smith and his friends sailed on the ''Privateer'' for the

Jamestown Exposition The Jamestown Exposition was one of the many world's fairs and expositions that were popular in the United States in the early part of the 20th century. Commemorating the 300th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown in the Virginia Colony, it w ...

, commemorating the 300th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown in the

Virginia Colony The Colony of Virginia, chartered in 1606 and settled in 1607, was the first enduring English colony in North America, following failed attempts at settlement on Newfoundland by Sir Humphrey GilbertGilbert (Saunders Family), Sir Humphrey" (hist ...

Pilot boat

In 1914, the ''Privateer'' yacht was purchased by the New York and New Jersey Pilots' Association from Robert A. C. Smith to replace the pilot boat ''New Jersey,'' that was sunk by the steamship ''SS Manchioneal'' in 1914. She was renamed ''Sandy Hook''. Her companion vessel was the pilot boat ''New York''. Her hailing port was New York City. Her ship

Master Master or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles * Ascended master, a term used in the Theosophical religious tradition to refer to spiritually enlightened beings who in past incarnations were ordinary humans *Grandmaster (chess), National Master ...

was William Baeszler. On September 19, 1915,

James Howard Van Pelt James is a common English language surname and given name: * James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambigua ...

, at age 58, died while boarding a

Standard Oil Standard Oil Company, Inc., was an American oil production, transportation, refining, and marketing company that operated from 1870 to 1911. At its height, Standard Oil was the largest petroleum company in the world, and its success made its co- ...

tanker No. 95, outside

Ambrose Light Ambrose Light, often called Ambrose Tower, was the light station at the convergence of several major shipping lanes in Lower New York Bay, including Ambrose Channel, the primary passage for ships entering and departing the Port of New York and ...

during rough weather. He was on the pilot boat ''Sandy Hook'' when he slipped from the ladder trying to board the barge and hit his head on the pilot boat's

yawl A yawl is a type of boat. The term has several meanings. It can apply to the rig (or sailplan), to the hull type or to the use which the vessel is put. As a rig, a yawl is a two masted, fore and aft rigged sailing vessel with the mizzen mast p ...

. On December 1, 1918, the pilot boat ''Sandy Hook'' helped to rescue seven passengers from death near the Ambrose Channel Lightship during stormy weather. Captain William Healy, commander of the ''Sandy Hook'' took on board the men just before the fifty-foot motorboat, ''W. D. Anderson'' sank. In 1931, in place of what was once thirty pilot boats, there were only three steam pilot boats remaining in the pilot fleet, the ''Trenton'', the ''New York,'' and the ''Sandy Hook.''

End of service

On April 27, 1939, in a dense fog off Ambrose Lightship, the

Oslofjord The Oslofjord (, ; en, Oslo Fjord) is an inlet in the south-east of Norway, stretching from an imaginary line between the and lighthouses and down to in the south to Oslo in the north. It is part of the Skagerrak strait, connecting the Nor ...

, with the

and

on board, ran into and sank the pilot boat ''Sandy Hook,'' No. 2. The ''Oslofjord'' rescued all 26 crew members and harbor pilots on board ''Sandy Hook''. The royal party was in New York City to open the Norwegian Pavilion at the

1939 New York World's Fair The 1939–40 New York World's Fair was a world's fair held at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York, United States. It was the second-most expensive American world's fair of all time, exceeded only by St. Louis's Louisiana Pur ...

and a coast to coast tour.

References

{{List of Northeastern U. S. Pilot Boats, state=collapsed Individual sailing vessels Steamships Schooners of the United States Service vessels of the United States 1902 ships Pilot boats Ships built in Elizabeth, New Jersey

Construction and service

Pilot boat

End of service

See also

References