The ''America, No. 1'' was a 19th-century

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

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 ship ...

built in 1897 for Captain James H. Reid Sr. of Boston and designed by Boston designer Thomas F. McManus. The Boston ''America'' did not resemble her famous namesake,

yacht A yacht () is a sail- or marine propulsion, motor-propelled watercraft made 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 ...

''America'', rather she was designed with a fishing schooner "Indian header"

bow BOW as an acronym may refer to: * Bag of waters, amniotic sac * Bartow Municipal Airport (IATA:BOW), a public use airport near Bartow, Florida, United States * Basic operating weight of an aircraft * BOW counties, made of Brown, Outagamie, and Winn ...

. After serving 21 years in the Boston Pilots' Association, the ''America'' was sold to David W. Simpson of Boston in 1918.

Construction and service

On January 18, 1897, the iron keel for the pilot boat ''America'' weighting six tons, was taken by a six-horse team to John Bishop's shipyard at Vincent's point, in

Gloucester, Massachusetts Gloucester ( ) is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. It sits on Cape Ann and is a part of North Shore (Massachusetts), Massachusetts's North Shore. The population was 29,729 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. Census. ...

. On February 28, 1897, Boston's new pilot boat ''America'' was on the stocks at the John Bishop's shipyard. She was designed by Thomas F. McManus of Boston for Captain James H. Reid Sr. of Boston. Reid was the principal owner and formally of the pilot boat ''Florence''. She had the new design from which other boats tested their speed. On April 19, 1897, ''America'' was launched from the shipyard of John Bishop of Gloucester. Pilots James H. Reid Jr. and Captain Bruce B. McLean were assigned to the new boat. She went on her trial trip down the

Boston Harbor Boston Harbor is a natural harbor and estuary of Massachusetts Bay, located adjacent to Boston, Massachusetts. It is home to the Port of Boston, a major shipping facility in the Northeastern United States. History 17th century Since its dis ...

on May 19, 1897, with 50 guests. Her dimensions were 101 feet overall, 85 feet length on waterline, 23 foot beam, depth of hold 10 feet 6 inches. She was built of white oak frame planking and fastened with galvanized iron and bolts and spikes below the waterline. The Boston ''America'' did not resemble her famous namesake, rather she was designed with a fishing schooner 'Indian head'

. On July 8, 1897, the pilot-boat ''America'' was in the Fisherman's Race against the fishing schooner ''James S. Steele''. The race went along

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

. The ''America'' beat the ''James S. Steele'' by three minutes. Pilot Bruce McLean took the place of Captain James Reid who was on the battleship USS ''Massachusetts''. In December, of the same year, Captain Reid of ''America,'' No. 1, won another Fisherman's Race against pilot-boat ''No. 2'' and the schooner ''Harry L. Belden''. On April 1, 1898, the Boston pilot-boat ''America'' rescued the crew of the

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

vessel ''Genius,'' 18 miles off the

Boston Light Boston Light is a lighthouse located on Little Brewster Island in outer Boston Harbor, Massachusetts. The first lighthouse to be built on the site dates back to 1716, and was the first lighthouse to be built in what is now the United States. The ...

. The rescued men were transferred from the ''America'' to the pilot-boat ''Hesper,'' No. 5. In 1900, Boston had seven pilots boats in commission. The ''America'' was Boston's pilot schooner number one. The other Boston boats included, the ''Liberty,'' No. 3; ''Adams,'' No. 4; ''Hesper,'' No. 5; ''Varuna,'' No. 6;

Minerva Minerva (; ; ) is the Roman goddess of wisdom, justice, law, victory, and the sponsor of arts, trade, and strategy. She is also a goddess of warfare, though with a focus on strategic warfare, rather than the violence of gods such as Mars. Be ...

, No. 7; and

Sylph A sylph (also called sylphid) is an air spirit stemming from the 16th-century works of Paracelsus, who describes sylphs as (invisible) beings of the air, his elementals of air. A significant number of subsequent literary and occult works have be ...

, No 8. On January 20, 1902, Pilot Benny Nelson, of the pilot boat ''America No. 1'', brought in a

Dominion Line The Dominion Line was a trans-atlantic passenger line founded in 1870 as the ''Liverpool & Mississippi Steamship Co.'', with the official name being changed in 1872 to the ''Mississippi & Dominion Steamship Co Ltd.'' The firm was amalgamated in ...

steamer ''New England''. On August 22, 1901, pilot Joseph W. Colby of the pilot boat ''America, No. 1'', brought into Long Wharf the fruit steamer ''Admiral Schley'' through a thick fog 140 miles from the South Shoal lightship. The pilot boat ''America No. 1'', was used as a lightship station boat. Captain James Reid boarded the Warren liner ''Sagamore'', from the ''America'' station boat on November 3, 1901. When the Boston pilots reorganized in 1901, down to five boats, the pilot-boat ''America'' was one of the boats that continued in the service. Captain Reid was with the ''America'', and piloted the last vessel under the old system. On April 29, 1902, Boston pilot-boat ''America, No. 1'', carried the ashes of Captain Franklin Fowler, encased in a small rosewood box, at the National Dock wharf,

East Boston East Boston, nicknamed Eastie, is a Neighborhoods in Boston, neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States, which was annexed by the city of Boston in 1836. Neighboring communities include Winthrop, Massachusetts, Winthrop, Revere, Mas ...

. Captain James H. Reid was in attendance on the deck of the ''America'' during the memorial.

End of service

On December 29, 1918, after serving 21 years in the Boston Pilots' Association, the ''America'' was sold to David W. Simpson of Boston. The ''America'' had been laid up at the National Dock for the past 2 years.

Gallery

File:James H. Reid.jpg, Owner Captain James H. Reid File:Bruce Boutlier McLean.png, Boston Pilot Captain Bruce Boutlier McLean File:Pilot Boat America No. 1.jpg, Boston Pilot Boat ''America''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:America Individual sailing vessels Schooners of the United States Service vessels of the United States Ships built in Boston 1897 ships Pilot boats

Construction and service

End of service

Gallery

See also

References