The ''Varuna'' was a 19th-century

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

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 by

Montgomery & Howard Montgomery refers to: People For people with the name Montgomery, see Montgomery (name) Places Belgium * Montgomery Square, Brussels * Montgomery metro station, Brussels Pakistan * Montgomery (town), British India, former name of Sahiwal, Punja ...

Chelsea, Massachusetts Chelsea is a city in Suffolk County, Massachusetts Suffolk County ( ) is located in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 797,936, making it the fourth-most populous county in ...

in 1890, for a group of Boston pilots. She was designed by

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 ...

designer Edward Burgess, known for his

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 ...

defenders. She was the first centerboard pilot-boat in operation in the

Massachusetts Bay Massachusetts Bay is a bay on the Gulf of Maine that forms part of the central coastline of Massachusetts. Description The bay extends from Cape Ann on the north to Plymouth Harbor on the south, a distance of about . Its northern and sout ...

. The ''Varuna'' went out of service in 1912 because of the introduction of

steam power 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 ...

into pilot-boats. She was later sold to Stephen Simmons to be used as a trading vessel between ports in the

Spanish Main During the Spanish colonization of the Americas, the Spanish Main was the collective term used by English speakers for the parts of the Spanish Empire that were on the mainland of the Americas and had coastlines on the Caribbean Sea or Gulf of ...

in 1913.

Construction and service

The Boston Pilot Boat ''Varuna,'' was a 90-ton schooner, built in 1890 by Howard & Montgomery at

. Her design was by the American yacht designer, Edward Burgess, known for his America's Cup defenders,

Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to rid the Church of England of what they considered to be Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should b ...

(1885,

Mayflower ''Mayflower'' was an English sailing ship that transported a group of English families, known today as the Pilgrims, from England to the New World in 1620. After 10 weeks at sea, ''Mayflower'', with 102 passengers and a crew of about 30, reac ...

(1886), and

Volunteer Volunteering is an elective and freely chosen act of an individual or group giving their time and labor, often for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency ...

(1887). Varuna is the name for

Varuna Varuna (; , ) is a Hindu god. He is one of the earliest deities in pantheon, whose role underwent a significant transformation from the Vedic to the Puranic periods. In the early Vedic era, Varuna is seen as the god-sovereign, ruling the sky ...

the Vedic king of the waters of early

Hindu mythology Hindu mythology refers to the collection of myths associated with Hinduism, derived from various Hindu texts and traditions. These myths are found in sacred texts such as the Vedas, the Itihasas (the ''Mahabharata'' and the ''Ramayan ...

. On September 23, 1892, the pilot boat Varuna was struck and sunk by the fishing schooner ''Emily P. Wright.'' She was floated by tugboat ''A. W. Chesterton'' and towed to the Lewis Wharf. The new pilot-boat ''Varuna,'' was launched on 8 May 1890, at Chelsea, Massachusetts. Her dimensions were 87 feet in length, with 23 feet beam and 10 1/2 feet draught. She was the first

centreboard A centreboard or centerboard (US) is a retractable hull appendage which pivots out of a slot in the hull of a sailboat, known as a ''centreboard trunk'' (UK) or ''centerboard case'' (US). The retractability allows the centreboard to be raised t ...

pilot-boat in the Boston fleet. At launch, she was commanded by Captain

James H. Reid James H. Reid, (1842March 7, 1919) was a 19th-century American Maritime pilot. He is best known for being the dean of the Boston pilots, serving for 55 years. He was captain of the famous yacht America (yacht), America for 17 years when she was ow ...

, who mastered General Benjamin F. Butler's yacht

America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

On 26 November 1898, while returning to Boston, the ''Varuna, No. 6,'' met up with the Portland Gale. Captain William McMilan, succeeded in working the ''Varuna'' out off

Highland Light The Highland Light (previously known as Cape Cod Light) is an active lighthouse on the Cape Cod National Seashore in North Truro, Massachusetts. The current tower was erected in 1857, replacing two earlier towers that had been built in 1797 and ...

, when she was driven into

shoal In oceanography, geomorphology, and Earth science, geoscience, a shoal is a natural submerged ridge, bank (geography), bank, or bar that consists of, or is covered by, sand or other unconsolidated material, and rises from the bed of a body ...

water during the storm. He had been captain of the ''Varuna'' for four years. McMilan was able to board a Johnston line steamer ''Sedgemore,'' inbound from

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. ''Varuna's'' double

reefed Reefing reduces the area of a sail, usually by folding or rolling one edge of the canvas in on itself and attaching the unused portion to a spar or a , as the primary measure to preserve a sailing vessel's stability in strong winds. Restoring ...

sails were damaged and her yawls washed away. The steamer was able to tow the pilot-boat from off Highland Light into the Boston harbour. Captain William McMilan, Captain William H. Fairfield and the crew were grateful to Captain Bartlett of the steamer for rescuing them. After repairs were made she resumed her duties in the pilot fleet. Captain Frederick W. Ahlquist, was head boatkeeper on the ''Varuna'' and later told of the experience of surviving the storm. During the gale, sister pilot-boat, the ''Columbia, No. 8,'' was driven ashore at the Sand Hills beach in

Scituate, Massachusetts Scituate () is a seacoast town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States, on the South Shore, midway between Boston and Plymouth. The population was 19,063 at the 2020 census. History The Wampanoag and their neighbors inhabited the ar ...

with the loss of all five men aboard. Captain Thomas Cooper was transferred from the ''Columbia'' to the ''Varuna,'' as he had ownership in the ''Varuna''. On June 22, 1899, James L. Smith escorted the USS ''Massachusetts'' from the ''Varuna.'' He was last attached to the ''Varuna,'' before he retired from pilot service due to illness. In April 1900, Charles I. Lampee, during spring vacation and his senior year in high school, went on a cruise with his grandfather skipper Thomas Cooper. They went from Boston eastward 200 miles when they came across the steamer with a load of coal headed for Boston. The pilot flag was set and Captain Cooper rowed a yawl to the steamer to climb on board. He convinced the captain on the steamer to tow them back to Boston to save time as there was not enough wind to return home. On 12 November 1900, Captain Clifford McField, of the pilot boat Varuna, No. 6, encountered bad weather 70 miles east of Boston Light. A huge wave came onboard, which carried away boat-keeper Sidney Campbell and caused considerable damage to the boat. Pilot Thomas Cooper helped to return the boat to port.

End of service

The ''Varuna'' was out of commission in 1912 because of the introduction of steam power into the pilot-boats. The Pilots' Relief Society reduced the Boston fleet five to three boats. On 28 June 1913, the pilot-boat ''Varuna'' was sold to Stephen Simmons to be used as a trading vessel between ports in the

. The price paid for the pilot-boat was $3,000.

References

{{List of Northeastern U. S. Pilot Boats, state=collapsed Individual sailing vessels Schooners of the United States Service vessels of the United States 1890 ships Pilot boats Ships built in Chelsea, Massachusetts

Construction and service

End of service

See also

References