Robert "Bob" Fish (1812January 18, 1883) was known as the oldest and most successful of the 19th-century American

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 ...

modelers and

shipbuilder Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other Watercraft, floating vessels. In modern times, it normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation th ...

s. He was well known for remodeling of the ''Sappho'' that won 3 successive international races.

Early life

Fish was born in Front Street,

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, in 1812. His father, David Fish, had a

boathouse A boathouse (or a boat house) is a building especially designed for the storage of boats, normally smaller craft for sports or leisure use. describing the facilities These are typically located on open water, such as on a river. Often the boats ...

in New York City. Robert Fish married Harriet Fish. They had 3 children, John Fish, Hattie Fish, and Evelyn Fish, born on 24 Jan 1869.

Career

Fish started his career as a

boatbuilder Boat building is the design and construction of boats (instead of the larger ships) — and their on-board systems. This includes at minimum the construction of a hull, with any necessary propulsion, mechanical, navigation, safety and other serv ...

and opened a shop in Front Street and in 1840, moved to Water Street. In 1850, he started a

shipyard A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are shipbuilding, built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Compared to shipyards, which are sometimes m ...

at Pamrapo,

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

. The earliest boats he worked on were the yachts ''Annie'' and ''Julia''. He built a yacht for the

Duke of Wellington Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they ar ...

, one for the Prince of Wales Club, and another for Sir Francis Sykes, of England. Fish was noted for the remodeling of the 300-ton

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 ...

''Sappho'' after several unsuccessful races. He modeled her by widening her

hull Hull may refer to: Structures * The hull of an armored fighting vehicle, housing the chassis * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a sea-going craft * Submarine hull Ma ...

so that the boat was able to hold up against stronger winds and sail faster. In 1870, he sailed her to England for her owner, W. P. Douglas, to help win 3 successive international races at

Cowes Cowes () is an England, English port, seaport town and civil parish on the Isle of Wight. Cowes is located on the west bank of the estuary of the River Medina, facing the smaller town of East Cowes on the east bank. The two towns are linked b ...

, defeating the English yacht ''

Cambria Cambria is a name for Wales, being the Latinised form of the Welsh name for the country, . The term was not in use during the Roman period (when Wales had not come into existence as a distinct entity) or the early medieval period. After the ...

''. He was the captain of the boat in these races. Fish made the models for the yachts ''Truant'', ''Challenge'', ''Eva'', ''Enchantress'', and ''Meteor''. He sold ''Challenge'', ''Eva'', and ''Enchantress'' to the

yachtsman A yacht () is a sail- or 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 , as opposed to a ...

George L. Lorillard. From 1868 to 1873, he was listed as the captain of the schooner ''Challenge''. On October 9, 1873, ''Enchantress'' was one of the boats that participated in the New York Ocean Regatta, which was a race from Owl's Head Point around the

Cape May Lighthouse The Cape May Lighthouse is a lighthouse located in the U.S. state of New Jersey at the tip of Cape May, in Lower Township, New Jersey, Lower Township's Cape May Point State Park. It was built in 1859 under the supervision of U.S. Army Corps of To ...

in New Jersey, and back to the Sandy Hook lightship. ''Enchantress'' won the cup valued at $1,000. ''Meteor'' made the fastest sailing time between Cowes and

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

. On February 15, 1874, Fish left by the steamer ''Herman'' for Cowes where he took command of ''Enchantress'' owned by yachtsman Joseph F. Loubat of 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. ...

. Fish was visiting England to see the improvements made in yacht designs.

Death

Fish died on January 18, 1883, in Pamrapo at age 71. His funeral was at the Pamrapo Methodist Church and he was buried in the New York Bay Cemetery in New Jersey. In April 1887, Loubat wrote a book about his races in ''Enchantress'' and dedicated it to the memory of the designer and sailing master, the late Robert Fish.

References

External links

New York Yacht Club
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fish, Robert 1812 births 1883 deaths American shipbuilders American naval architects American businesspeople in shipping 19th-century American businesspeople Businesspeople from Manhattan Businesspeople from Jersey City, New Jersey

Early life

Career

Death

See also

References

External links