The ''Phantom'' was a 19th-century centerboard
schooner
A schooner ( ) is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel defined by its Rig (sailing), rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more Mast (sailing), masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than t ...
-
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 ...
built in 1865 by
Joseph D. Van Deusen and first owned by yachtsman
Henry G. Stebbins. She was one of the fastest yachts in the New York
squadron. The ''Phantom'' won 1st place in the June 1867
New York Yacht Club
The New York Yacht Club (NYYC) is a private social club and yacht club based in New York City and Newport, Rhode Island. It was founded in 1844 by nine prominent sportsmen. The members have contributed to the sport of yachting and yacht design. ...
regatta
Boat racing is a sport in which boats, or other types of watercraft, race on water. Boat racing powered by oars is recorded as having occurred in ancient Egypt, and it is likely that people have engaged in races involving boats and other wa ...
. She came in 7th place in an unsuccessful
America's Cup
The America's Cup is a sailing competition and the oldest international competition still operating in any sport. America's Cup match races are held between two sailing yachts: one from the yacht club that currently holds the trophy (known ...
defense in 1870. She was sold as a racing yacht several times before she went out of service in 1900.
Construction and service
The ''Phantom'' was a centerboard schooner built in the summer of 1865 by
Joseph D. Van Deusen and owned by yachtsman
Henry G. Stebbins and part of the New York Yacht Squadron. She was constructed on the same model as the
flagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of navy, naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically ...
yacht ''Sylvia''. She was 123.3 tons burden, and 92 length on deck. She was painted a deep maroon.
June Regatta
In June 1867, the schooner ''Phantom'' was in the annual June
New York Yacht Club
The New York Yacht Club (NYYC) is a private social club and yacht club based in New York City and Newport, Rhode Island. It was founded in 1844 by nine prominent sportsmen. The members have contributed to the sport of yachting and yacht design. ...
regatta
Boat racing is a sport in which boats, or other types of watercraft, race on water. Boat racing powered by oars is recorded as having occurred in ancient Egypt, and it is likely that people have engaged in races involving boats and other wa ...
. Commodore H. G. Stebbins was listed as owner. She raced against the
''Magic'',
''Dauntless'',
''Widgeon'', ''Vesta'', and other schooners and sloops. The course was from Owl's Head to the S.W. Split, then across to the
Sandy Hook Light
__NOTOC__
The Sandy Hook Lighthouse, located about one and a half statute miles (2.4 km) inland from the tip of Sandy Hook, New Jersey, is the oldest working lighthouse in the United States. It was designed and built on June 11, 1764 by ...
ship and back. ''Phantom'' came in 1st place at 5hr. 40min, and 57 secs; the ''Magic'' 2nd place at 5hr. 48min, and 24 secs and the ''Dauntless'' 4th place at 6hr. 7min, and 12 secs.
1870 America's cup
On August 8, 1870, the international
1870 America's Cup
The 1870 America's Cup was the first America's Cup competition to be hosted in the United States, and the first "America's Cup" due to the trophy being renamed from the 100 Guineas Cup of 1851. It was the first competition after the founding of t ...
(also called the Queen's Cup) was the first America's Cup to be hosted in the United States at
New York Harbor
New York Harbor is a bay that covers all of the Upper Bay. It is at the mouth of the Hudson River near the East River tidal estuary on the East Coast of the United States.
New York Harbor is generally synonymous with Upper New York Bay, ...
. Henry G. Stebbins with his American schooner ''Phantom'' was in the competition. The course started from the
Staten Island
Staten Island ( ) is the southernmost of the boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County and situated at the southernmost point of New York (state), New York. The borough is separated from the ad ...
N.Y.Y.C anchorage down through the
Narrows
A narrows or narrow (used interchangeably but usually in the plural form), is a restricted land or water passage. Most commonly a narrows is a strait, though it can also be a water gap.
A narrows may form where a stream passes through a tilte ...
to the S.W. Split
buoy
A buoy (; ) is a buoyancy, floating device that can have many purposes. It can be anchored (stationary) or allowed to drift with ocean currents.
History
The ultimate origin of buoys is unknown, but by 1295 a seaman's manual referred to navig ...
, across to the
Sandy Hook lightship and return to Staten Island. The race was won by the Franklin Osgood's ''Magic'' with the ''Phantom'' finishing in 7th place. Franklin Osgood's yacht ''Magic'' beat 16 competitors from the
New York Yacht Club
The New York Yacht Club (NYYC) is a private social club and yacht club based in New York City and Newport, Rhode Island. It was founded in 1844 by nine prominent sportsmen. The members have contributed to the sport of yachting and yacht design. ...
, including
James Lloyd Ashbury
James Lloyd Ashbury (1834 – 3 September 1895) was a British people, British yachtsman and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party politician.
Early life
The son of John Ashbury, founder of the Ashbury Railway Carriage and Iron Company Ltd ...
's English yacht
''Cambria'' that sailed to New York on behalf of the
Royal Thames Yacht Club
The Royal Thames Yacht Club (RTYC) is the oldest continuously operating yacht club in the world, and the oldest yacht club in the United Kingdom. Its headquarters are located at 60 Knightsbridge, London, England, overlooking Hyde Park. The clu ...
and the yachts
''Dauntless,'' ''Idler,'' ''Fleetwing,'' ''Phantom,''
''America'' and others.
In September, 1870, there was a single match race for the Newport Cup against Asbury's yacht ''Cambria,'' Stebbins yacht ''Phantom'' and the yacht ''Madeline,'' owned by Jacob Voorhis, Jr. The course was off the
New York Harbor
New York Harbor is a bay that covers all of the Upper Bay. It is at the mouth of the Hudson River near the East River tidal estuary on the East Coast of the United States.
New York Harbor is generally synonymous with Upper New York Bay, ...
. The ''Cambria'' was badly beaten by the ''Phantom'' and ''Madeline''.
In June 1873, yachtsman William Henry Osgood purchased the yacht ''Phantom'' from ex-Commodore Henry G. Stebbins. She was fitted out in New London for the July season.
In August 1874, the ''Phantom'' was in the
Newburgh, New York
Newburgh is a City (New York), city in Orange County, New York, United States. With a population of 28,856 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is a principal city of the Kiryas Joel–Poughkeepsie–Newburgh metropolitan area. ...
yacht regatta. She won a silver service as the first prize for first-class yachts. She competed against the ''Loreled'', ''Startle'', ''Emily'', and ''Le Roy'' yachts.
On May 12, 1879, Osgood sold the ''Phantom'' to Henry S. Hovey of Boston. He moved her to the
Eastern Yacht Club located in
Marblehead, Massachusetts
Marblehead is a coastal New England town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, along the North Shore (Massachusetts), North Shore. Its population was 20,441 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. The town lies on a small peninsu ...
. Hovey sailed her for the next five years, where he took her on a number of trips to New York for races there and at
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 ...
. In 1881, the Phantom was one of the yachts which took part in the
Yorktown celebration.
In 1882, Hovey had the keel schooner-rigged yacht ''Fortuna'' built by
C. & R. Poillon of
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
, New York from a design by A. Cary Smith.
Hovey sold the ''Phantom'' in August 1883 to Eugene V. R. Thayer of Boston. Thayer took the ''Phantom'' on races in New Bedford at the Eastern Yacht Club.
Hovey then sold her in March 1886 to E. Griscom Haven, owner of the schooner ''Lotus'' and member of the N.Y.Y.C. He sailed the yacht from Boston to New York.
In July 1889, the ''Phantom'' was purchased by Commodore Henry S. Parmelee of the New Haven Yacht Club in Connecticut where she served as a flagship. She sailed from New York to New Haven. On July 30, 1893, Parmelee was in command of eighteen boats entered in the squadron for the twelfth annual cruise of the New Haven Yacht club, held at the
Thimble Islands
The Thimble Islands is an archipelago consisting of small islands in Long Island Sound, located in and around the harbor of Stony Creek in the southeast corner of Branford, Connecticut. The islands are under the jurisdiction of the United ...
off
Long Island Sound
Long Island Sound is a sound (geography), marine sound and tidal estuary of the Atlantic Ocean. It lies predominantly between the U.S. state of Connecticut to the north and Long Island in New York (state), New York to the south. From west to east, ...
, near
Branford, Connecticut
Branford is a shoreline New England town, town located on Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, about east of downtown New Haven, Connecticut, New Haven. The town is part of the South Central Connecticut Planning Regi ...
. The course was from the Thimble Islands to
Stonington, Connecticut
Stonington is a town located on Long Island Sound in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The municipal limits of the town include the borough of Stonington (borough), Connecticut, Stonington, the villages of Pawcatuck, Connecticut, Pa ...
,
Newport, Rhode Island
Newport is a seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Rhode Island, United States. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and nort ...
, and
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 ...
. In May 1894, Parmelee had the ''Phantom'' condemned and summoned out of service because her timbers had become decayed. In May 1896, Parmelee had the ''Phantom'' rebuilt at a cost of $12,000 and went into commission May 15. Captain James Carberry was the sailing master of the yacht.
End of service
On Oct 24, 1900, the sailing days of the ''Phantom'' were over when she was purchased by James E. Stannard of New Haven and turned into a houseboat.
References
External links
America's CupTHE RACE OF THE FIRST CHALLENGE
{{DEFAULTSORT:Phantom
Schooners of the United States
Individual sailing vessels
Ships built in New York City
Yachts of New York Yacht Club members
1865 ships
America's Cup challengers
America's Cup regattas
1870 in American sports
1870 in sailing