''Sankaty'' (a.k.a. HMCS ''Sankaty'', a.k.a. ''Charles A. Dunning'') was a

propeller A propeller (often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon a working flu ...

-driven steamer that served as a

ferry A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus ...

Martha's Vineyard Martha's Vineyard, often simply called the Vineyard, is an island in the U.S. state of Massachusetts, lying just south of Cape Cod. It is known for being a popular, affluent summer colony, and includes the smaller peninsula Chappaquiddick Isla ...

and

Nantucket Nantucket () is an island in the state of Massachusetts in the United States, about south of the Cape Cod peninsula. Together with the small islands of Tuckernuck Island, Tuckernuck and Muskeget Island, Muskeget, it constitutes the Town and Co ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

; in

Rockland, Maine Rockland is a city in and the county seat of Knox County, Maine, United States. As of the United States Census, 2020, 2020 census, the town population was 6,936. The city is a popular tourist destination. It is a departure point for the Maine S ...

;

Stamford, Connecticut Stamford () is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, outside of New York City. It is the sixth-most populous city in New England. Stamford is also the largest city in the Western Connecticut Planning Region, Connecticut, Weste ...

and Oyster Bay,

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 ...

in the United States from 1911 to 1940. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the ship was requisitioned by the

Royal Canadian Navy The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; , ''MRC'') is the Navy, naval force of Canada. The navy is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of February 2024, the RCN operates 12 s, 12 s, 4 s, 4 s, 8 s, and several auxiliary ...

for service as a

minelayer A minelayer is any warship, submarine, military aircraft or land vehicle deploying explosive mines. Since World War I the term "minelayer" refers specifically to a naval ship used for deploying naval mines. "Mine planting" was the term for ins ...

and maintenance vessel along the Canadian Atlantic coast. Following the war the ship returned to a ferry, working the Wood Islands, Prince Edward Island and

Caribou, Nova Scotia Caribou is a small rural community in Pictou County, Nova Scotia, Pictou County, Nova Scotia, Canada. it is populated by an estimated 103 people as of 2024. Located on the Northumberland Strait northwest of the town of Pictou, Nova Scotia, Pict ...

route in Canada from 1947 until 1964. While being towed to the breaker's yard, the ship sank off the coast of

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 ...

on October 27, 1964.

Description

''Sankaty'' was designed by Chauncey G. Whiton. The ship was long, a slim vessel with twin

s and twin smokestacks.''The Dukes County Intelligencer''. Vol. 7, No. 4. May 1966 She had a beam, and at the

waterline The waterline is the line where the hull of a ship meets the surface of the water. A waterline can also refer to any line on a ship's hull that is parallel to the water's surface when the ship is afloat in a level trimmed position. Hence, wate ...

and drew of water. The ship had a depth of

hold Hold may refer to: Physical spaces * Hold (compartment), interior cargo space * Baggage hold, cargo space on an airplane * Stronghold, a castle or other fortified place Arts, entertainment, and media * Hold (musical term), a pause, also called ...

of . The ship had a gross register tonnage (GRT) of 657 tons. ''Sankaty'' rolled much more than the sidewheelers that preceded it. Because of this, the ladies' parlor and toilet was situated on the upper deck in a location to reduce the motion and vibration while on the rough waters of

Vineyard Sound Vineyard Sound is the stretch of the Atlantic Ocean which separates the Elizabeth Islands and the southwestern part of Cape Cod from the island of Martha's Vineyard, located offshore from the state of Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), ...

. The ship was powered by a

triple expansion engine A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder. This pushing force can be transf ...

fed by steam from four Almy

water-tube boiler A high pressure watertube boiler (also spelled water-tube and water tube) is a type of boiler in which water circulates in tubes heated externally by fire. Fuel is burned inside the furnace, creating hot gas which boils water in the steam-generat ...

s turning the two propellers. The ship had a maximum speed of . In Canadian naval service, the ship had

standard displacement The displacement or displacement tonnage of a ship is its weight. As the term indicates, it is measured indirectly, using Archimedes' principle, by first calculating the volume of water displaced by the ship, then converting that value into wei ...

of , a

complement Complement may refer to: The arts * Complement (music), an interval that, when added to another, spans an octave ** Aggregate complementation, the separation of pitch-class collections into complementary sets * Complementary color, in the visu ...

of 3 officers and 39 ratings and the vessel was armed with one .303 machine gun.

Career

Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket Ferry

''Sankaty'' built by the Fore River Works in

Quincy, Massachusetts Quincy ( ) is a city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the largest city in the county. Quincy is part of the Greater Boston area as one of Boston's immediate southern suburbs. Its population in ...

with the

yard number The yard (symbol: yd) is an English unit of length in both the British imperial and US customary systems of measurement equalling 3 feet or 36 inches. Since 1959 it has been by international agreement standardized as exactly 0.9 ...

192. The ship was launched on 2 February 1911 and completed in April.''The Dukes County Intelligencer''. Vol. 24, No. 4. May 1983 From her construction in 1911 until 1924, ''Sankaty'' operated as a

for the New Bedford, Martha's Vineyard & Nantucket Steamboat Company, serving the islands of

and

. While not the first propeller-driven steamer to serve these islands (which was ''Helen Augusta'' which substituted for during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

) it marked the end of the paddlewheel steamer era for the Cape and Islands. On February 20, 1917, she went ashore on Wilburs Point at Sconticut Neck near

New Bedford, Massachusetts New Bedford is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. It is located on the Acushnet River in what is known as the South Coast region. At the 2020 census, New Bedford had a population of 101,079, making it the state's ninth-l ...

. The vessel was refloated, repaired and returned to service.

1924 fire, Maine and New York Ferry Service

On the night of June 30, 1924, ''Sankaty'' caught fire and burned down to her steel hull while tied up overnight in

New Bedford New Bedford is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. It is located on the Acushnet River in what is known as the South Coast (Massachusetts), South Coast region. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, New Bedford had a ...

harbor. She drifted across the

Acushnet River The Acushnet River is the largest river, long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 1, 2011 flowing into Buzzards Bay in southeastern Massachusetts, in the United St ...

in flames and crashed into the whaling ship , setting her on fire as well. ''Sankaty'' was raised, sold and rebuilt with an open deck for use as a car ferry in

. Owned by the New England Steamship Company, the vessel was sold to Snow Marine Company in 1925. In 1931, the vessel was sold again, this time to the Stamford-Oyster Bay Ferries Corporation to serve as a ferry between

, and Oyster Bay, Long Island.

Canadian service and fate

In 1940 ''Sankaty'' was purchased by Northumberland Ferries of

Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island is an island Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. While it is the smallest province by land area and population, it is the most densely populated. The island has several nicknames: "Garden of the Gulf", ...

, Canada, but before she began service she was requisitioned by the

that year to serve in

as a

, HMCS ''Sankaty''. The ship was commissioned on 24 September 1940 at

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and most populous municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the most populous municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of 2024, it is estimated that the population of the H ...

and was also used as a maintenance vessel. With the end of the war, the ship was

paid off Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to placing a warship i ...

on 18 August 1945. Never entirely suitable for job as a minelayer, the ship was replaced in Canadian service by . After the war she was renamed ''Charles A. Dunning'', and served from 1946 until 1964 in the waters between Wood Islands, Prince Edward Island and Caribou, Nova Scotia. During this period her capacity was twenty-three cars and four trucks. She was sold for

scrap Scrap consists of recyclable materials, usually metals, left over from product manufacturing and consumption, such as parts of vehicles, building supplies, and surplus materials. Unlike waste, scrap can have monetary value, especially recover ...

in 1964, but sank en route to

Sydney, Nova Scotia Sydney is a former city and urban community on the east coast of Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, Canada within the Cape Breton Regional Municipality. Sydney was founded in 1785 by the British, was incorporated as a city in 1904, and dissolv ...

on October 27, 1964.

The new ''Sankaty''

In 1994,

The Woods Hole, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket Steamship Authority The Woods Hole, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket Steamship Authority, doing business as The Steamship Authority (''SSA''), is the statutory regulatory body for all ferry operations between mainland Massachusetts and the islands of Martha's Vineyar ...

began service of a new freight vessel ''Sankaty'', named after this steamer.

Notes

{{coord, 46, 30, N, 61, 40, W, display=title Ferries of Massachusetts Maritime history of the United States Martha's Vineyard Ferries of Prince Edward Island Ferries of Nova Scotia Auxiliary ships of the Royal Canadian Navy Shipwrecks of the Nova Scotia coast 1911 ships Maritime incidents in 1964 Transportation in Dukes County, Massachusetts Transportation in Nantucket, Massachusetts Transport in Kings County, Prince Edward Island Ships built in Quincy, Massachusetts