Governor Ames

The "Governor Ames" was a five-masted schooner launched on December 1, 1888 by the Leavitt Storer shipyard of Waldoboro, Maine, United States; named after Adelbert Ames (former Governor of Mississippi), the vessel was the first five-masted schooner and was the world's largest cargo vessel in the late 19th century. [cite web
url = http://www.redondobeachhistorical.org/rb_pier.htm
title = RBHS - Redondo Pier
first = Rick
last = Becker
publisher = Redondo Beach Historical Society
quote = … the five mast Schooner "Governor Ames", then the largest cargo ship in the world …
accessdate = 2008-04-16]

Although the "Governor Ames" was the first five-masted schooner, it was preceded by the five-masted Great Lakes barkentine "David Dows", which was confusingly called a schooner despite having a square-rigged foremast. The "David Dows" was longer than the "Governor Ames" but otherwise smaller.

The schooner's first voyage, in ballast to Baltimore, Maryland, resulted in disaster on December 11, 1888 when the foremast snapped in high winds, taking the other masts with it and dismasting the "Governor Ames" completely. The anchor chain also broke, and the schooner ran aground on Georges Bank. [cite news
title = An Unlucky Voyage
url = http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9F01E1DE163BE033A2575BC1A9649D94699FD7CF
publisher = The New York Times
date = December 17, 1888
pages = 2]

Refloated and towed to port, the vessel was remasted with shorter masts, [cite news
title = A Big Lumber Schooner
url = http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9F05E0D6153AE033A25755C1A9649C94689FD7CF
publisher = The New York Times
date = February 16, 1889
pages = 1] following which it sailed from Maine to Buenos Aires in Argentina with a cargo of convert|1896000|board feet|lk=on of spruce and pine lumber valued at $29,868, believed to be the largest or second largest cargo ever taken by an American vessel at the time. [cite news
title = A Large Cargo of Lumber
url = http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9901E6D8123AE033A25752C0A9639C94689FD7CF
publisher = The New York Times
date = May 1, 1889
pages = 12]

The lumber trade proving profitable, she was employed for the next five years in that trade, venturing far away from the Eastern seaboard and its coal trade for which she was built. She rounded Cape Horn to bring lumber to Redondo Beach, California and was then employed hauling lumber from Pacific ports to Australia. Returning to the waters of the Eastern United States via Cape Horn once more, she entered the coal trade finally in Fall 1894.cite news
title = The Five-masted Schooner Missing
url = http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9905E3D61139E033A25750C0A9659C94649ED7CF
publisher = The New York Times
date = March 3, 1895
pages = 14]

On May 30, 1899, the "Governor Ames" grounded in eighteen feet of water near Key West, Florida. [cite news
title = Schooner Governor Ames Ashore
url = http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9903E5DB1438E733A25752C3A9639C94689ED7CF
publisher = The New York Times
date = May 31, 1899
pages = 12] With assistance from the tug "Childs" and other schooners and the jettisoning of convert|200|short ton of coal, the "Governor Ames" was refloated the next afternoon without major damage. [cite news
title = Schooner Governor Ames Floated
url = http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9F02EEDC123DE633A25752C0A9609C94689ED7CF
publisher = The New York Times
date = May 31, 1899
pages = 4]

The "Governor Ames" was wrecked in a gale on December 13, 1909, four miles off Cape Hatteras on the North Carolina coast, having sailed on December 9 from Brunswick, Georgia bound for New York with a cargo of railroad ties piled high on her deck. The schooner was driven onto Wimble Shoals and broke up within two hours. Thirteen of the fourteen aboard perished, including the master, Captain King, and his wife. The sole survivor was one Joseph Speering of New York. [cite news
title = Thirteen Lost in Schooner
url = http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9A06E6DF1E3EE033A25755C2A9649D946897D6CF
publisher = The New York Times
date = December 26, 1909
pages = 1]

References